A powerful typhoon has lashed south-western Japan with heavy rain and strong winds, leaving one person dead and at least 34 others injured, paralysing traffic and cutting power to thousands of homes.

A volcano in south-western Japan has erupted for the first time in six years, spreading ash over nearby cities and towns.

Army troops and other rescuers rushed to save scores of trapped residents after two strong earthquakes in south-western Japan killed at least 41 people, injured about 1,500 and left hundreds of thousands without electricity or water.

Radioactive water leaked inside a nuclear power plant in south-western Japan but did not escape into the environment, the government said today.

Torrential rains triggered floods and landslides in southern Japan, leaving at least six people dead and 10 others missing, including elderly residents at a nursing home, officials said today.