The Tokyo region of Japan has a 70% chance of being hit by a powerful earthquake within four years, a new study has warned.

Ten people were killed and five others were missing today as a powerful typhoon lashed southern Japan with strong winds and heavy rains, causing deadly mudslides and prompting the evacuation of thousands of homes.

A strong offshore earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.5 shook parts of north-eastern Japan and the Tokyo region today, but there were no reports of injuries or damage.