Quake, tsunami scare for Japan

Agence France-Presse and staff reporter

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

The quake hit at 4.42 pm off Kyushu at a depth of 25 kilometers, the United States Geological Survey said, with the Japan Meteorological Agency putting its magnitude at 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 said.

Three people were hurt in Miyazaki.

The agency initially warned of tsunamis of up to one meter, but they only came to 50, 20 and 10 centimeters in some places, including the port of Miyazaki, more than an hour after the quake. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center too had warned that tsunamis were possible within 300 kilometres of the epicenter.

No abnormalities were reported at atomic power plants in the area, according to the nuclear regulation authority.

Government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said "damage to people and property" was still being assessed.

In Hong Kong, tour agency WWPKG said six of its tour groups are in Kyushu and that the 130 Hongkongers are safe.

The Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong too said that 13 tour groups with 320 people in Japan are safe.