Tokyo, July 24 : A strong earthquake jolted northern Japan early on Thursday.

Agency reports said that several people were injured and that three cars had been buried under a landslide, and that electric power had been cut off to at least 10,000 homes.

The Japan Meteorological Agency, however, said there was no threat of a tsunami from the quake, which had a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 and could be felt as far away as Tokyo.

Tokyo - Japan's trade surplus shrank 42.1 per cent in the first six months of fiscal 2008 to 3 trillion yen (27.51 billion dollars) from a year earlier, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.

The surplus marked the largest fall since the first half of 2001.

Due to rising oil prices, imports grew faster than exports, the ministry said.

Exports grew 3.9 per cent to 41.93 trillion yen on expansion in automobile shipments to Russia and the Middle East, and imports soared 10.5 per cent to a record 38.97 trillion yen, buoyed by double-digit gains in crude oil, liquefied natural gas and coal imports.

Japan's trade surplus with the United States shrank 17.2 per cent to 3.4 trillion yen.

Tokyo - Tokyo stocks opened higher Thursday on a fall in oil prices and eased credit concerns.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 168.78 points, or 1.27 per cent, to 13,481.71.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also up 18.02 points, or 1.38 per cent, to 1,321.37.

On currency markets at 9 am (0000 GMT), the dollar was quoted at 107.89-92 yen, up from Wednesday's 5 pm quote of 107.68-70 yen.

Tokyo - At least 91 people were injured in a magnitude-6.8 earthquake that hit northern Japan Wednesday night, media reports said.

The quake left some 10,000 households without electricity in northern Iwate, Aomori, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, and some 201 households in Iwate were left without water, local media reported Thursday.

About 13 of those injured were in serious condition, while others sustained minor injuries, police said.

Tokyo - Tokyo stocks opened higher Wednesday on a weaker yen and overnight rises in the US market.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 133.69 points, or 1.01 per cent, to 13,318.65. The index rose 3 per cent at the end of Tuesday trading to exceed the 13,000 level for the first time since July 14.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also up 19.01 points, or 1.48 per cent, to 1,306.75.