Magnitude 7.6 earthquake triggers tsunami off Japan’s northern coast

23 people have been injured

A tsunami has been triggered by the quake (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck off northern Japan injuring more than 20 people and triggering a tsunami in Pacific coast communities, officials said.

The Japanese government said it was still assessing damages from the tsunami and late-evening quake, which struck at about 11.15pm local time in the Pacific Ocean around 80 kilometres (50 miles) off the coast of Aomori, the northern-most prefecture of Japan’s main Honshu island.