Japan will start in January providing South Korea, North Korea and Russia with information on tsunamis originating in the Sea of Japan, the Meteorological Agency said.

Japan will report the size of the waves and their estimated times of arrival on the countries' shores, agency officials said Wednesday.

The agency will provide information to South Korea and Russia thorough the Geneva-based World Meteorological Organization. North Korea will be provided with information via Russia as Tokyo and Pyongyang do not have diplomatic ties, the officials said.

All information will be provided in English, they added.

The agency will project the heights of tsunami in four areas -- the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula, the eastern coast of the peninsula, the Russian coast facing the Sea of Japan and the Russian coast facing the Tatar Strait.

It will also estimate the time the waves will arrive on the countries' shores and whether any one of eight locations -- including Pusan, Vladivostok and Kholmsk on Sakhalin -- will be hit.

Using a supercomputer, the agency can classify the likely height of tsunami into eight different levels -- from 0.5 meter to more than 10 meters.

The agency can also report whether any one of 66 locations throughout Japan will be hit.

A number of large earthquakes have hit the Sea of Japan in the past, setting off devastating tsunamis. Most recently, 230 people died or disappeared in 1993 when a devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Okushiri Island off southwest Hokkaido.

In addition to Japanese casualties, a number of people are believed to have died in North and South Korea and Russia in waves caused by the quakes.