A strong 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit southern Japan on Tuesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. A tsunami alert was issued. The alert was for a one-meter-(about one yard) high tsunami, according to the Reuters news service.<\/p>\n
Reuters said the quake struck Japan’s Kumamoto prefecture.<\/p>\n
The temblor measured at the highest possible level of seven on Japan’s own Shindo scale, the agency said.<\/p>\n
But there was no tsunami threat to Hawaii or American Samoa, according to the Honolulu-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.<\/p>\n