A magnitude 7.2 earthquake has hit northeastern Japan, triggering minor tsunamis along the country's Pacific coast and swaying towering buildings in the heart of Tokyo, more than 300km away. At least 46 people have been injured.
The quake caused a roof to cave in at an indoor pool in the coastal city of Sendai, injuring 19 people, according to a police spokesman.
The earthquake caused bullet trains and a nuclear power plant to be temporarily closed.
The quake hit at 11:46am (02:46 GMT) and was centred 42km below the ocean floor about 80km off the coast of Miyagi prefecture in northeastern Japan, the Meteorological Agency said.
Yasuo Sekita, an earthquake information official at the agency, told reporters: "We had better be prepared for aftershocks of an upper half of Richter-scale 5."
