'Woman killed' as earthquake hits Japan

A woman has reportedly been killed, and two others seriously injured, after an earthquake hit Japan.

The earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 struck near Hiroshima, about 429 miles southwest of Tokyo.

A woman in her 60s is belived to have been killed under a falling concrete wall. Police were not immediately able to confirm the report.

"There was a terrible shaking and some products fell on to the floor," said Takuya Ueda, a cashier at a convenience store in Hiroshima. "It lasted a long time, about 30 seconds, but there was no panic inside the store."

The quake was also powerful enough to shatter windows. Train service was stopped, and the airport in Hiroshima closed for inspection. Telephone service was also disrupted, but there was no report of electrical blackouts.

Smoke could be seen rising from at least two places in Hiroshima, but officials could not immediately confirm whether it was from fires caused by the quake.

Michiyo Koniki, a police spokesman in neighbouring Tottori, said the quake caused a slow rocking motion that lasted around 15-20 seconds.

He said there were no reports of injuries, damage to buildings or fires in Tottori.

In Hiroshima city, buildings swayed violently and people had trouble standing.