Japan Issues Tsunami Warning After 6.7-Magnitude Quake

AFP/APP

Toyko: A powerful earthquake struck off the northern coast of Japan on Friday, days after a stronger quake injured at least 50 people in the same region, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

The JMA upgraded Friday’s quake to magnitude 6.7 and warned that tsunami waves of up to one metre (three feet) could hit the northern Pacific coastline. Two tsunami waves measuring 20 centimetres were recorded—one in Erimo, Hokkaido at 12:35 pm (3:35 GMT), and another minutes later in Aomori, the agency reported.

Public broadcaster NHK said no visible changes were observed at either port.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) also measured the quake at magnitude 6.7, locating it 130 kilometres (81 miles) off Kuji city in Iwate prefecture on Honshu.

NHK noted that Friday’s quake caused less shaking than Monday’s 7.5-magnitude tremor, which tore apart roads, smashed windows, knocked items off shelves, and triggered tsunami waves up to 70 centimetres.

Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority said there were no immediate signs of abnormalities at nuclear facilities in the region.

After Monday’s stronger quake, the JMA issued a rare special advisory warning of another quake of similar or greater magnitude within a week. The advisory covered the Sanriku coastal region in northeastern Honshu and Hokkaido’s Pacific-facing areas.

The region remains deeply scarred by the 2011 disaster when a 9.0-magnitude undersea quake triggered a massive tsunami that left about 18,500 people dead or missing.

In August 2024, the JMA issued its first special advisory for southern Japan’s Pacific coast over the risk of a “megaquake” along the Nankai Trough—an 800-kilometre (500-mile) undersea trench where the Philippine Sea plate subducts beneath Japan’s continental plate. A quake there could kill as many as 298,000 people and cause up to $2 trillion in damage, the government warns.

While last year’s advisory was lifted after a week, it sparked panic buying of essentials like rice and caused widespread travel cancellations.

Japan, located on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” sits atop four major tectonic plates and experiences around 1,500 earthquakes annually. Most are mild, though damage varies depending on location and depth.