Earthquake of magnitude 7.1 hits southern Japan, tsunami warning issued
The quake was centred off the eastern coast of Japan's southern main island of Kyushu at a depth of about 30 kilometres.
Japan earthquake: A powerful earthquake measuring magnitude 7.1 struck the island of Kyushu in southern Japan on Thursday. Japanese public broadcaster NHK had earlier reported the quake's preliminary magnitude as 6.9.
The earthquakes also triggered a tsunami, which has reached the western Miyazaki prefecture, according to NHK.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the quake was centred off the eastern coast of Japan's southern main island of Kyushu at a depth of about 30 kilometres.
The Japanese government has set up a special task force in response to the quakes, AFP reported, citing a a statement. There were no immediate signs of major damage, according to the agency.
Japan, one of the world's most tectonically active countries, has strict building standards designed to ensure structures can withstand even the most powerful earthquakes.
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The archipelago, home to around 125 million people, experiences around 1,500 jolts every year. The vast majority of them are mild, although the damage they cause varies according to their location and the depth below the Earth's surface at which they strike.
On New Year's Day, at least 260 people died after a massive earthquake hit the peninsula, including 30 "quake-linked" deaths as well as those killed directly in the disaster.
The January 1 quake and its aftershocks toppled buildings, caused fires and knocked out infrastructure at a time when families were celebrating the new year.
Japan's biggest earthquake on record was a massive magnitude-9.0 undersea jolt in March 2011 off Japan's northeast coast, which triggered a tsunami that left around 18,500 people dead or missing.
The 2011 catastrophe also sent three reactors into meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant, causing Japan's worst post-war disaster and the most serious nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
The total cost was estimated at 16.9 trillion yen ($112 billion), not including the hazardous decommissioning of the Fukushima facility, which is expected to take decades.