Two dead in powerful Japan quake

Residents and officials in the country's northeast were still trying to assess the damage early on Thursday, after the 7.4-magnitude quake that hit shortly before midnight.

A tsunami warning for waves of up to a metre in parts of northeast Japan was lifted in the early hours of Thursday, after authorities recorded water levels up to 30cm higher than usual in some areas.

Multiple smaller jolts continued to hit the region throughout the night and morning on Thursday.

Initial reports of damage appeared relatively minor, in a country with tough building codes intended to protect against devastation from frequent earthquakes, and officials said there were no abnormalities at nuclear plants.

Two people were killed in the quake, one in the Fukushima region and a second in neighbouring Miyagi, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, with over 90 people injured across several regions.

The quake struck at a depth of 60 kilometres (37 miles) off the Fukushima coast and was preceded minutes earlier by another strong 6.1-magnitude shake in the same area, Japan's Meteorological Agency said.

The night-time shaking came just days after Japan marked the 11th anniversary of a massive quake that triggered a deadly tsunami and the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe.

The overnight quake produced strong shaking in the coastal northeast, where items were thrown from the shelves of convenience stores and bookcases toppled over in homes.

The jolts also rattled the capital and temporarily plunged parts of Tokyo and other areas into darkness.

Around two million homes lost power in the capital and elsewhere in the immediate aftermath of the quake, but it was progressively restored throughout the night. Around 35,600 homes in the Miyagi and Fukushima areas were still without power on Thursday morning, electricity firm TEPCO said.