clipped from: news.yahoo.com   

Reuters
Strong quake jolts southern and western Japan


TOKYO (Reuters) - A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 jolted western and southern Japan on Monday, and media reported at least two people had been injured.


The focus of the tremor was 140 km (87 miles) below the earth's surface in Oita prefecture on Kyushu island, about 800 km southwest of Tokyo, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.


Major cities to feel the full effect of the tremor included Hiroshima, the target of the world's first atomic bomb attack and the site of car manufacturing plants owned by Mazda Motor Corp.


No tsunami warning was issued.


Two people had suffered head injuries, Kyodo news agency quoted rescue officials as saying.


Nuclear power plants were operating normally but some rail operations had been suspended for safety checks, Kyodo said.


The earthquake, which struck at 5:01 a.m (2001 GMT), measured "lower 5" on the seven-point Japanese intensity scale, which measures ground motion. A quake with that reading can damage roads and less earthquake-resistant buildings.