Pacific quake sparks tsunami alert

A tsunami alert has been issued after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake in the Pacific Ocean off southern Japan.



The US Geological Survey says the epicentre of the earthquake was 95 miles off the Bonin Islands, some 1,000 kilometres south-east of Tokyo.



The agency said the quake struck at a depth of nearly 15 kilometres.



Japan is often hit by earthquakes.



In 1995, a magnitude 7.2 quake in the port city of Kobe killed 6,400 people.