TOKYO - Japan's Meteorological Agency has warned that a tsunami could reach Japanese coast early Thursday morning, following a massive 8.2-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Chile.

The first wave is expected to arrive at the Pacific coasts of Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, Kyodo news agency quoted the meteorological authority as saying on Wednesday.

The US Geological Survey said the quake off Chile was shallow at 20.1km below the seabed and struck about 100km north-west of the mining port of Iquique near the Peruvian border.

Report say at least five people were killed in Chile and 2m-high waves pounded the northern coast.

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued an alert for residents living along more than 4,800km of coastline in South and Central America.