Strong quake, small tsunamis hit southern Japan with minor damage

TOKYO: A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 shook southern Japan on Thursday but no major damage was reported and only relatively minor tsunami waves lashed the coast.

The quake hit at 4:42 pm (0742 GMT) off Kyushu at a depth of 25 kilometres (16 miles), the United States Geological Survey said.

The USGS had initially reported two strong quakes, with magnitudes of 6.9 and 7.1, but later said there had only been one tremor.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) also said there was one quake with a magnitude of 7.1.

Broadcaster NHK showed footage of traffic lights shaking violently in Miyazaki on Kyushu’s southeast coast.

“The surface of the sea is wavering. I felt an intense jolt when the quake happened which lasted for between 30 seconds and a minute,” one local official told NHK.