UPDATE 1-Survivor of Japan quake in shock as pulled from rubble

TOKYO, March 19 (Reuters) - A man was pulled alive from the rubble on Saturday eight days after Japan's powerful earthquake and tsunami, the military said.

The man, in his 20s, was in shock and unable to speak when he was found in Kesennuma in Miyagi prefecture, which was one of the regions hardest hit by the magnitude 9.0 earthquake, a spokesman said.

He was found a day after authorities said they had ended the rescue phase of the post-eartghquake operation and would be concentrating on clearing rubble and restoring limited services.

It was not immediately clear how the man survived in an area where overnight temperatures have plunged below freezing, but he was immediately wrapped in a blanket and was in stable condition, Kyodo news agency said.

Nearly 7,000 people have been confirmed killed in the double natural disaster, which turned whole towns into waterlogged and debris-shrouded wastelands.

Another 10,700 people are missing with many feared dead.

(Reporting by Kazunori Takada; Editing by Nick Macfie)