Japanese authorities lifted all tsunami warnings on Tuesday, only hours after a powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck the country’s northeastern coast. The quake injured at least 30 people and forced roughly 90,000 residents to evacuate their homes.
The earthquake occurred offshore at 11:15 p.m. (1415 GMT) on Monday. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) initially warned that waves up to 3 meters (10 feet) could hit parts of the northeast. Alerts were issued for Hokkaido, Aomori, and Iwate prefectures. Tsunami waves between 20 and 70 centimeters (7 to 27 inches) were later recorded at several ports, the agency said.
During the early hours of Tuesday, the JMA downgraded the warnings to advisories and then lifted all remaining alerts. No major structural damage was reported.
The earthquake’s epicenter was located 80 km (50 miles) off the Aomori coast at a depth of 54 km. On Japan’s seismic intensity scale, the tremor registered an “upper 6” in Hachinohe city—strong enough to make standing difficult and force people to crawl to move.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi confirmed that at least 30 injuries and one fire had been reported. East Japan Railway suspended some services in the affected region, which also suffered the devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake in March 2011. Other train lines across northern Japan experienced delays.
Following the quake, the JMA issued an advisory covering a large area from Hokkaido to Chiba, east of Tokyo. Officials warned residents to remain alert, noting the possibility of another strong earthquake within a week.
“There is a possibility that more powerful earthquakes could occur over the next several days,” a JMA official said during a briefing.
Nuclear power plant operators, including Tohoku Electric Power and Hokkaido Electric Power, reported no irregularities. Thousands of homes briefly lost power, but electricity was restored by Tuesday morning.
Yen Weakens Briefly After Earthquake News
The yen temporarily weakened against major currencies after reports of the tremor, with both the dollar and the euro reaching session highs.
Japan is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone nations, experiencing tremors roughly every five minutes. Positioned along the “Ring of Fire,” the country accounts for about 20% of all global earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.0 or greater.
The northeastern region has seen devastating quakes in the past, most notably the March 11, 2011 disaster. That 9.0-magnitude earthquake triggered massive tsunamis, caused nearly 20,000 deaths, and led to severe failures at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant—the worst nuclear accident in 25 years.
In response to lessons learned from 2011, the government now issues a one-week “megaquake” advisory whenever a significant earthquake hits the region.
