The head of a Japanese constitutional watchdog suggested yesterday that it would not block a bid by prime minister Shinzo Abe to ease constraints on the country’s military.

Japan’s central bank pumped billions more into the financial system today to quell fears that the country’s banks could be overwhelmed by the impact of the earthquake and tsunami.

A powerful magnitude 8.3 earthquake struck off Japan’s northern coast in the Pacific today, sparking tsunami warnings and sending thousands of residents along the archipelago’s eastern coast fleeing to higher ground, officials said.