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 By afternoon, more than 130 aftershocks had hit the area around
the city of Kumamoto in the wake of the initial 6.4 magnitude quake
the night before. Officials said the frequency was tapering off but
the risk of further strong aftershocks will remain for about a week.
While the magnitude of Thursday's quake was much lower than that of
the 9.0 March 11, 2011 quake that touched off a massive tsunami and
nuclear meltdowns at Fukushima, the intensity was similar because it
struck on land and at a much shallower depth.
"We managed to huddle into a space, that's why we were saved," one
man told NHK national television after he and his family were
rescued from their collapsed house two hours after the quake hit.
"We're all safe, that's what counts."
More than 44,000 people initially fled to schools and community
centers, some spending the night outside after the first quake hit
around 9:30 p.m.
Roads cracked, houses crumbled, and tiles cascaded from the roof of
the 400-year-old Kumamoto Castle in the center of the city.
 Among those pulled from the wreckage was an eight-month-old baby
girl, wrapped in a blanket and passed hand to hand by firefighters.
Several hospitals had to evacuate patients.
Japanese stocks ended down 0.4 percent, with the impact of the quake
limited primarily to regional shares that could experience some
direct impact. Regional utility Saibu Gas Co Ltd <9536.T> finished
2.7 percent lower.
Several companies, including Honda Motor Corp <7267.T>, suspended
operations at plants in the area.
More than 3,000 troops, police and firemen were dispatched to the
area from around Japan, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said more
would be sent if needed.
"We will do everything in our power to ensure the safety of local
residents," Abe told a parliamentary committee.
Most of the dead came from Mashiki, a town of around 34,000 people
near the epicenter of the quake, where firefighters battled a blaze
late on Thursday. Daylight showed splintered houses under tiled
roofs and an apartment building whose ground floor was pulverized,
where two people died.
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"I want to go home, but we couldn't do anything there," one boy at
an evacuation center told TBS television as he bounced a baby in his
arms.
Though the intensity of Thursday's quake on the Japanese scale
matched that of the March 2011 quake that left nearly 20,000 dead,
the absence of a tsunami helped keep the death toll down.
Service on the Shinkansen superfast train in Kyushu was halted after
one train derailed, and highways were closed after some sections
collapsed. About 12,200 households were without electricity as of 12
p.m. (0500 GMT), according to Kyushu Electric Power Co Inc <9508.T>,
while some 58,000 lacked water.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority said there were no irregularities
at three nuclear plants on the southern major island of Kyushu and
nearby Shikoku.
Sony Corp <6758.T>, Mitsubishi Electric Corp <6503.T> and tire maker
Bridgestone Corp <5108.T> also suspended operations at factories in
the area.
The 2011 quake temporarily crippled part of Japan's auto supply
chain, but some companies have since adjusted the industry's "Just
in Time" production philosophy in a bid to limit any repeat of the
costly disruption.
(Additional reporting by Joshua Hunt, Naomi Tajitsu and Tokyo
newsroom; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
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