A pre-dawn earthquake with a magnitude of 5.4 jolted the Tokyo region on Wednesday, injuring at least 27 people and disrupting early morning transport. No major damage was reported, officials said. Most injuries were caused by falls, including a 68-year-old woman who broke her arm and a 62-year-old man injured when he fell down stairs in his home, media reports said. At least 27 people had been hurt, public broadcaster NHK said.

The focus of the quake was 40 km (25 miles) below the surface in Ibaraki prefecture, just north of Tokyo and near the capital's Narita international airport, though flights were unaffected.

Copyright Reuters, 2005