TOKYO - A strong earthquake measuring 6.4 struck central Japan early Tuesday, injuring at least 43 people, triggering a landslide and shutting down a nuclear power plant and bullet trains, officials said.

The tremor shook buildings and jolted people from their sleep in Tokyo and areas southwest of the capital, a region also bracing for torrential rains and strong winds from a typhoon later in the day.

The quake hit at 5:07 am (2007 GMT Monday) in the Pacific Ocean about 170 kilometres (105 miles) southwest of Tokyo at a depth of 26.8 kilometres (16.7 miles), according to the US Geological Survey.

At least 43 people were injured, mostly by falling objects, including two who were in serious condition, said a Shizuoka prefecture government official.

A fire broke out at a machinery plant but was put under control, he added.

A large landslide triggered by the quake damaged a highway in the prefecture at Makinohara, causing long traffic jams, television footage showed.

The Hamaoka nuclear plant in Shizuoka immediately shut down two reactors after the quake, operator Chubu Electric Power Co. said. But a company official said there were "no abnormalities" registered at the plant.

The utility said the quake caused power failures in some 9,500 households.

Central Japan Railway Co. suspended Shinkansen bullet trains in the quake-hit region but resumed the services several hours later.

Shizuoka governor Heita Kawakatsu urged the public in an address on public broadcaster NHK to "remain level-headed and gather correct information we provide through TV programmes".

Prime Minister Taro Aso's office set up an emergency centre shortly after the quake, which was followed by 13 noticeable aftershocks.

Aso's top spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura, told reporters: "Our prime minister ordered us to figure out details of the damage. He ordered us to do our utmost to rescue people if there are any such cases."

Japan's Meteorological Agency, which measured the quake at a revised 6.5, said there was no risk of a tsunami after initial waves raised the ocean surface by about 40 centimetres (16 inches) at Omaezaki, Shizuoka.

Typhoon Etau -- whose torrential rains have caused at least 13 deaths from flooding and landslides in Japan -- was moving northeast along the coast, the Meteorological Agency said.

The typhoon was not forecast to make a direct landfall, but it was predicted to lash the Tokyo region with strong winds and heavy rains.

"As the typhoon is approaching... there are concerns about possible landslides. Please be vigilant," an official at the agency told a news conference.

An earthquake also jolted central Japan on Sunday. Around 20 percent of the world's most powerful earthquakes strike the country.