Jun 25, Kathmandu - At least four people were injured after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck northeastern Japan.

The Japan Meteorological Agency and local fire departments said in a statement that the quake struck at a depth of 44 kilometers off the Pacific coast of Iwate Prefecture.

According to local fire departments in Hasikami and Hachinohe, four injured people have been taken to hospital for treatment.

The department has urged the public to be on alert for earthquakes measuring high on the Japanese seismic intensity scale for the next week.

Japan is known to be a country at risk of high seismic activity because it is located on the edge of four tectonic plates and has 100 active volcanoes.

A 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan in 2011 killed more than 15,000 people.