A powerful earthquake hit northwestern Japan on Tuesday night,... triggering a small tsunami near the quake's epicenter.<br />The quake, which struck at 10:22PM, local time, was recorded at a magnitude of six-point-eight and it hit underwater some 50 kilometers south west of the city of Sakata.<br />Shortly after the quake hit, Japan's meteorological agency issued a tsunami warning, saying it expected a surge of seawater to arrive imminently in the coastal areas of Yamagata, Niigata and Ishikawa.<br />21 people were injured in the quake, thousands of households experienced power blackouts and some train services were suspended.<br />Tuesday's quake was the strongest observed in Japan since a magnitude seven-point-oh quake rattled Hokkaido last September.<br />
