Asian shares rise, Tokyo surges despite quake

HONG KONG, Apr 8 (AFP): Asian shares rose on Friday, with Tokyo almost two per cent up, despite Japan's northeast coast being hit by one of the biggest tremors to rattle the region since last month's deadly earthquake. The 7.1 magnitude aftershock on Thursday killed four and cut power to millions of households in parts of the country struggling to recover from the March 11 tragedy while also sparking a tsunami alert, which was soon cancelled. However, authorities reported no damage to the nation's nuclear power stations. Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) said there were no signs of abnormality at its stricken Fukushima Daiichi plant, which workers are battling to stabilise after it was rocked by last month's twin disaster. Tokyo's Nikkei surged 1.85 per cent, or 177.15 points, to 9,786.08, with stocks again boosted by ongoing weakness in the yen. Hong Kong put on 0.68 per cent in the afternoon and Shanghai rose 0.33 per cent. Seoul ended 0.27 per cent, or 5.83 points, higher at 2,127.97.