A magnitude-8.8 earthquake hit northeastern Japan Friday, generating a tsunami as high as 10 metres that hit the coast of Miyagi, officials said.

NHK public broadcaster showed footage of many submerged vehicles in Kamaishi, Iwate prefecture, as a 4.20-metre tsunami hit the city's coast.

A tsunami advisory was issued in wide areas of the eastern coast, and around the Pacific rim.

The quake was earlier reported at 7.9 magnitude by Japan's Meteorological Agency. The US Geological Survey said it reached 8.8 on the Richter scale.

The quake, which hit at 2.45 p.m. (0545 GMT), shook buildings in Tokyo violently.

Some buildings in Tokyo had caught fire, broadcaster NHK said.