Magnitude 7.1 earthquake hits Japan's Kyushu region

A strong 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit southwestern Japan, the Japan Meteorological Agency says, issuing a tsunami alert.The tremor at 4:27 pm (0727 GMT) on the island of Kyushu also measured at the highest possible level seven on Japan's own Shindo scale of shaking, the agency said.The tsunami could measure up to one metre and arrive at around 5pm (0800 GMT), it said.Broadcaster NHK said that waves of up to that level may already have been recorded.A quake with a magnitude of 7.2 hit northern Japan on June 25 but caused no deaths or major damage.Japan is one of the world's most seismically active countries, sitting on top of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific "Ring of Fire".The archipelago, home to around 125 million people, typically experiences hundreds of j