7.1 quake off the east coast of Japan *

A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.5 struck about two hours ago off the east coast of Honshu, 230 miles out to sea. Small tsunami waves were observed on Honshu, but advisories were later cancelled. The National Tsunami Warning Center is monitoring the Pacific but there are no watches, warnings or advisories in effect. "A destructive Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said out of Hawaii.

Added: The USGS now calls it a 7.1 magnitude quake. "The result of normal faulting in the shallow oceanic crust of the Pacific plate," says the preliminary report.