(CNN) Japan's meteorological agency has lifted an earlier tsunami warning, after a 6.8 magnitude earthquake was recorded at 10:22 p.m. Tuesday (9:22 a.m. ET) off the coast of Yamagata Prefecture in the north of the country.

The agency had originally warned that tsunamis were "expected to arrive imminently" in the coastal areas of Yamagata, Niigata and Ishikawa, with an advisory issued for four coastal regions.

The meteorological agency has advised residents to evacuate those coastal regions immediately and to not enter the sea or approach the coastal regions until the advisory has been lifted.

Slight sea-level changes may be observed in coastal regions, but no tsunami damage is expected, it added.

In March 2011, Japan was hit by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, its worst ever. The massive quake rocked the country and triggered an enormous tsunami that resulted in the country's worst nuclear disaster.

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