Strong 7.0-magnitude quake hits Japan

A powerful 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck off the southwestern coast of Japan on Saturday, authorities said, with a small tsunami observed on one island but no major damage reported. The US Geological Survey (USGS) put the epicentre of the shallow quake about 160 kilometres from the town of Makurazaki in southwestern Japan. It was centred about 10 kilometres under the ocean floor and struck at 5.51 am (2051 GMT Friday), the USGS and Japan’s Meteorological Agency said.