Thousands of Japan homes without power after quake kills four

A broken road following a strong earthquake is pictured in Soma, Fukushima prefecture, Japan in this photo taken by Kyodo on March 17, 2022. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS

TOKYO (Reuters) -Tens of thousands of Japanese households remained without power on Thursday morning after a magnitude 7.4 quake struck shortly before midnight, throwing a swathe of northeastern Japan into darkness, severing key transportation links and killing four.

Companies including Toyota Motor Corp and chipmaker Renesas Electronics Corp raced to assess the impact, with any supply chain disruption likely to add pressure to strained global output of smartphones, electronics and automobiles.