TOKYO - Two strong earthquakes rattled Japan's southernmost islands Friday, generating a temporary warning for a tsunami.

An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 struck off Okinawa at 10:46 am (0146 GMT), just an hour after another strong tremor registering 6.2 on the Richter scale.

The Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami alert but lifted it about one hour later after no seismic waves hit.

The agency had forecast that waves of around 50 centimetres (20 inches) would hit Okinawa's Miyako island, a popular tourist resort.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties following the two quakes in Okinawa, a subtropical chain north of Taiwan, local government officials said.

However, a meteorological agency official said more aftershocks and consequent tsunamis could hit the region for the next week.

Japan lies at the junction of four tectonic plates and experiences some 20 percent of the world's most powerful earthquakes.

The country prides itself on its rapid tsunami warnings which lead residents to head to higher ground.

Late last month, a powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 hit the Noto peninsula in central Japan, killing one person and injuring more than 200.

Last week another quake hit central Japan, injuring 12 people.

In 1995, a 7.3-magnitude quake in the western city of Kobe killed more than
6,400 people. - AFP/ir