At least five people died and over 400 have been injured after a powerful earthquake struck central Japan Sunday night, BBC reported.

The victims - four women and a man in their 70s and 80s - died after being crushed when buildings collapsed on them, said the spokesman for the National Police Agency in Tokyo.

The 6.8-magnitude tremor shook the Niigata area flattening about 300 buildings and triggering a fire at a nuclear power plant that has been gradually extinguished.

There was no release of radiation or damage to the reactors, officials said.

More than 2,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in the city of Kashiwazaki, where all five deaths all took place.

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