A strong typhoon was looming off Japan's northeastern Pacific coast on Thursday, the weather agency said.

Typhoon Maliksi, packing winds of up to 126 kilometres (78 miles) per hour, was in the Pacific Ocean east of Tokyo around Thursday noon, moving north-northeast, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The typhoon was not expected to hit the Japanese archipelago directly but was forecast to move along the northeastern Pacific coast, the agency said.

The agency warned of high waves of about six metres (20 feet) on the coasts of Japan's tsunami-ravaged northeast later on Thursday.