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 The shallow earthquake hit in the early hours, sending people
fleeing from their beds and on to dark streets, and follows a 6.4
magnitude quake on Thursday which killed nine people in the area.
Television footage showed fires, power outages, collapsed bridges
and gaping holes in the earth. Residents near a dam were told to
leave because of fears it might crumble, broadcaster NHK said
"I felt strong shaking at first, then I was thrown about like I was
in a washing machine," said a Tokai University student who remains
isolated in the village of Minamiaso in Kumamoto province on the
island of Kyushu.
"All the lights went out and I heard a loud noise. A lot of gas is
leaking and while there hasn't been a fire, that remains a concern,"
the student, who is sheltering in a university gym with 1,000 other
students and residents, told Japanese media.
There were also concerns for those trapped under rubble overnight
with heavy rain forecast and the temperature expected to drop to 13
degrees Celsius (55 degrees Fahrenheit).
About 190 of those injured were in serious condition, the government
said.
 Many frightened people wrapped in blankets sat outside their homes
while others camped out in rice fields in rural areas surrounding
the main towns. About 422,000 households were without water, and
about 100,000 without electricity, the government said. Troops were
setting up tents for evacuees and water trucks were being sent to
the area.
"The wind is expected to pick up and rain will likely get heavier.
Rescue operations at night will be extremely difficult," Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe told a government meeting. "But there are people
waiting for help. Please do your utmost while putting top priority
on human lives."
The speed of rescue efforts was critical given that rain could
further damage weakened buildings and cause landslides.
"Nothing is more important than human life and it's a race against
time," Abe said.
Self Defense Forces personnel in the town of Mashiki, close to the
epicentre, were providing food and water.
"I don't mind standing in line. I'm just thankful for some food,"
said a man in his 60s waiting in line for a meal.
Japan is on the seismically active "ring of fire" around the Pacific
Ocean and has building codes aimed at helping structures withstand
earthquakes.
A magnitude 9 quake in March 2011 north of Tokyo touched off a
massive tsunami and nuclear meltdowns at Fukushima, contaminating
water, food and air for miles around. Nearly 20,000 people were
killed in the tsunami.
The epicentre of Saturday's quake was near the city of Kumamoto and
measured at a shallow depth of 10 km (six miles), the United States
Geological Survey (USGS) said. The shallower a quake, the more
likely it is to cause damage.
TSUNAMI ALERT LIFTED
The city's 400-year-old Kumamoto Castle was badly damaged, with its
walls breached after having withstood bombardment and fire in its
four centuries of existence.
The quake triggered a tsunami advisory which was later lifted and no
irregularities were reported at three nuclear power plants in the
area, a senior government official said.
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, speaking at a G20 event in
Washington, said it was too early to assess the economic impact but
bank operations in Kumamoto were normal.
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The USGS, which is a government scientific body, estimated that
there was a 72 percent likelihood of economic damage exceeding $10
billion, adding that it was too early to be specific. Major insurers
are yet to release estimates.
Electronics giant Sony Corp said a factory producing image sensors
for smartphone makers will remain closed while it assesses the
damage from the quakes. One of its major customers is Apple which
uses the sensors in iPhones.
Toyota Motor Corp halted production at three plants producing
vehicles, engines and trans axles in Fukuoka. Toyota said there was
no damage at its plants, but it was checking the status of its
suppliers. It will decide on Sunday whether to resume production.
Nissan Motor Co Ltd stopped production at its Fukuoka plant which
produces vehicles including the Serena, Teana, Murano and Note.
South Korea said it had rented five buses to transport 200 South
Korean tourists "stranded" in Oita, to the east of Kumamoto.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said nearly 80 people were
believed trapped or buried in rubble. Rescuers managed to pull 10
students out of a collapsed university apartment in the town of
Minami on Saturday.
Extra troops would be sent to help, with up to 20,000 due by Sunday,
as well as more police, firefighters and medics, he said. "We are
making every effort to respond," Suga said.
The region's transport network suffered considerable damage with one
tunnel caved in, a highway bridge damaged, roads blocked by
landslips and train services halted, Japanese media reported.
Kumamoto airport was also closed.
There have been more than 230 aftershocks of at least level 1 on the
Japanese scale since Thursday's shock, said Japan's meteorological
agency.
"We have already seen of several of the mid to upper 5 plus
magnitude range, and over the next several days and weeks, we would
not be surprised to see more earthquakes of this size," said John
Bellini, a geophysicist with the USGS.
The 2011 Fukushima quake temporarily crippled part of Japan's auto
supply chain in particular, but some companies have since adjusted
the industry's "Just in Time" production philosophy in a bid to
limit any repeat of the disruption.
(Additional reporting by Linda Sieg, Elaine Lies, William Mallard,
Chris Gallagher, Jon Herskovitz and Jack Kim in Seoul; Writing by
Robert Birsel, Michael Perry and Nick Macfie; Editing by Lincoln
Feast and Martin Howell)
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