Indonesia issues tsunami alert after Japan quake

JAKARTA: Indonesia on Friday warned people living in its eastern areas including Papua, Maluku and North Sulawesi to be on guard for tsunamis set off by a major quake off Japan.

"The arrival time of any waves that may be generated is expected at 8:00 pm local time (1100 GMT)," according to official text message received by AFP.

A massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit Japan on Friday, unleashing a monster 10 metre high tsunami that sent ships crashing into the shore and carried cars through the streets of coastal towns.