A powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck off northern Japan on Monday, triggering a tsunami of up to 15 inches in coastal communities in the region, the Japanese Meteorological Agency said. 

The agency said the quake struck just east of Aomori, the northernmost prefecture of Japan's main Honshu island, and just south of Hokkaido island. It said a tsunami of 40 centimeters (about 15.75 inches) struck the Hokkaido prefecture town of Urakawa and the Aomori prefecture port of Mutsu Ogawara.

Several people were injured at a hotel in the Aomori town of Hachinohe, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, in brief comments to reporters, said the government set up an emergency task force to urgently assess the extent of damage. "We are putting people's lives first and doing everything we can," she said.

Nuclear power plants in the region were conducting safety checks, NHK reported.

The U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center said there was no tsunami danger for the U.S. West Coast, Canada's British Columbia or Alaska.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.