From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

The big one hits Japan.

Hello again, I'm Orman Alney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International.

A daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

A magnitude 8.9 earthquake struck Japan early this afternoon, the strongest ever recorded in that country and one of the world's largest in the past 100 years.

Tokyo was badly shaken and virtually closed down, but the worst of the damage came from a massive tsunami, which devastated the north of the country.

The death toll has already reached into the hundreds, and it's expected to rise.

There's concern about some nuclear power plants.

We'll hear what it was like to see high-rise buildings shaking like jelly and elevated roads moving like leaves in the wind.

On reporter's notebook later on, President Obama, on the earthquake, the budget, and Libya's

Omar Gaddafi.

First, here's the news.

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Hello again, Wabanalni, back with To the Point.

Japan is asking for international assistance after an 8.9 earthquake,

followed by a devastating

tsunami. Kenneth Cucay lives in Tokyo, where he's Japan correspondent for The Economist

Magazine. Kenneth Cucay, thanks for joining us. Yeah, my pleasure. Tell us, if you will,

...