Strong quake hits off Japan coast

A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 struck under the sea several hundred miles south of Japan today, shaking buildings in the capital, but officials said there was no danger of a tsunami.

The quake struck near the uninhabited island of Torishima in the Pacific Ocean, about 600km south of Tokyo, and its epicentre was about 370km below the sea, the Meteorological Agency said.