A nine-year-old girl is among three people confirmed to have died following a 6.1 magnitude earthquake in and around the Japanese city of Osaka which occurred  during Monday morning rush hour.

Local officials have also confirmed the death toll, which includes two men in their 80s, after the area, which had had its subway and bullet train services suspended was hit by the quake shortly after 8 am local time on Monday.

The girl was knocked down by a concrete wall at her primary school as she walked by while one of the men was also killed by a collapsed wall in the city. The other victim – an 84-year-old man died in nearby Ibaraki after a bookshelf fell on him at his home.

The quake caused water mains to burst, walls to topple and a number of fires to break out, with more than 200 people reported to have been injured.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the tremor was at its strongest just north of Osaka, with an initial recording of 5.9 at a depth of 13 kilometres caused water mains to burst, walls to topple and a number of fires to break out, with more than 200 people reported to have been injured.

It disrupted the morning commute for thousands of people, including those outside the city, with bullet train and subway services suspended while they were checked for survivors and other damages.