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The Sea of Japan is likely to see a 7-plus magnitude earthquake within the next 30 years, a Japanese government panel has warned.

The country's earthquake research committee said the chance of a magnitude 7 earthquake or stronger striking in the Sea of Japan from the Kinki to the Hokuriku regions within the next 30 years is 16% to 18%, state broadcaster NHK reported on Friday.

The possibility for the western part of the waters is lower, at 4% to 6%, compared to 12% to 14% for the eastern part, the committee said.

"The probability is so high that it would not be surprising if a major earthquake were to occur in our lifetime," said Hirata Naoshi, the head of the committee.

As the fault zone that lies north of the Noto Peninsula is believed to have caused a major earthquake on New Year's Day in 2024, the chance of such a quake occurring soon in that same fault zone is almost zero, the panel added.

In addition to strong tremors, Naoshi said, high tsunami waves would come quickly on the Sea of Japan side.

The committee plans to assess risks for waters off Niigata Prefecture through Hokkaido.

The fresh warning came days after Japan's Meteorological Agency said it has recorded more than 400 tremors registering an intensity of 1 or higher on the Japanese seismic scale of zero to 7 that have been observed since last week in the seas around the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan.

The agency called on residents in the area to stay on the alert for possible strong tremors, as a series of recent tremors have occurred at a more frequent pace than previous cases.

* Writing by Aamir Latif