A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck south-west Japan's Kyushu island on Tuesday, injuring several people and damaging buildings, with a brief tsunami advisory issued before being lifted within the hour. The quake, which had a shallow epicentre of just 10km, prompted more than 150,000 people to be told to move to evacuation shelters, and the meteorological agency has warned that strong aftershocks remain likely.

The earthquake hit inland near Kumamoto City at 16:27 local time (07:27 GMT), with footage showing cracked roads and bridges and several buildings on fire. Around 10 of the injured were residents of an elderly care home, and at least 50 people are being treated in hospital, according to broadcaster NHK. Train services have been suspended and electricity cut to thousands of homes, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi confirming injuries and property damage are still being assessed. Japan, which sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire and experiences around 1,500 earthquakes a year, saw a magnitude 7.5 quake last December injure 30 people, while the 2011 magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami killed 18,000.