Japan: 7.3 quake sets off tsunami alert

Tokyo: A powerful 7.3-magnitude quake jolted eastern Japan on Wednesday night, rattling the capital Tokyo and prompting a tsunami advisory for parts of the northeast coast.

The quake, which cut power to more than two million households, was centred off the coast of the Fukushima region at a depth of 60 km, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

“Calls have been inundating police and ambulances in Fukushima and (neighbouring region) Miyagi,” top government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters.