Japan rocked by powerful earthquake

A POWERFUL earthquake rocked northeastern Japan yesterday, knocking out power, causing a landslide and disrupting road and rail traffic. Buildings swayed in Tokyo, hundreds of miles away.

The quake measured a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 and was the strongest to hit Japan in two years, the nation's meteorological agency said.

However, only five injuries had been reported two hours after it struck and an agency official suggested the impact might have been mitigated by its depth.