japan earthquake

Second big quake hits southern Japan in just over 24 hours

A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck southern Japan early on Saturday, just over 24 hours after a quake killed nine people and injured at least 1,000 in the same area.

The Saturday quake triggered a tsunami advisory, although it was later lifted and no irregularities were reported at three nuclear power plants in the area, a senior government official said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in the Saturday quake, but local media did say there had been fresh damage, including some collapsed buildings and cracked roads.

The epicenter of the quake was near the city of Kumamoto . . .