A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck northeastern Japan on the evening of November 9 and has been followed by aftershocks.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the 5:03 p.m. temblor registered 4 in the country’s seismic intensity scale of up to 7 in parts of Iwate and Miyagi prefectures.

The epicenter was off the coast of Sanriku at a depth of 16 kilometers.

The agency issued a tsunami advisory for the coastal areas of Iwate Prefecture but lifted it at 8:15 p.m.

Agency officials said there have been continued small-scale seismic activity off the coast of Sanriku since around November 4.

They urged people to be careful of future earthquakes with a seismic intensity of 4 or larger in the coming week or so.

The officials noted that in the past, active seismic activity has continued for about a month.