A powerful magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu today, killing an elderly woman, injuring 400, and forcing hundreds to flee their homes.
The meteorological agency issued tsunami warnings, but the advisories were lifted about an hour later. Authorities, however, warned that aftershocks with magnitude of up to 6 were possible. The focus of the magnitude 7.0 quake was off the western coast of Fukuoka Prefecture, about 900 km (550 miles) southwest of Tokyo on the island of Kyushu.
The quake was felt as far away as Seoul, the capital of South Korea.
Kyodo news agency said around 400 people were treated at hospitals in Fukuoka city, near the focus of the tremor, and that 782 people in the city had evacuated their homes.
Fukuoka Airport suspended operations for checks but there were no reports of damage and it later reopened. Some power outages were reported, but Kyushu Electric Power Co. said neither of its two nuclear power plants in Saga and Kagoshima prefectures were affected by the earthquake.
Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.