A 7.5 magnitude earthquake strikes northeastern Japan

By Kantaro Komiya and Mariko Katsumura – Reuters

Tsunami warnings appeared live on television coverage in Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture, northern Japan. The warnings were later downgraded to warnings. Photo: AFP/Greg Baker

Tsunami warnings were issued, later downgraded to warnings. 90,000 residents were ordered to evacuate. No violations occurred at the nuclear plants, but power outages were reported

A powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake shook northeastern Japan, prompting about 90,000 residents to be ordered to evacuate their homes, and tsunami warnings issued hours later were downgraded to warnings.

The Japan Meteorological Agency initially said a tsunami up to 3 meters high could hit Japan's northeastern coast after the quake struck off the coast at 11.15pm local time on Monday.

Tsunami warnings were issued in Hokkaido, Aomori and Iwate prefectures, and tsunami waves rising from 20 cm to 70 cm were observed in several ports, the JMA said.

In the early hours of Tuesday, the JMA downgraded the warnings to warnings, meaning it is now seeing lower estimated wave heights and lower flood risks.

The agency added that the epicenter of the earthquake was 80 kilometers off the coast of Aomori Prefecture and at a depth of 54 kilometers.

On Japan's earthquake intensity scale from 1 to 7, the quake was recorded as a “top 6” in Hashinohe City, Aomori Prefecture – a quake strong enough to make it impossible to continue standing or move without crawling. In such earthquakes, most heavy furniture can collapse and wall tiles and window panels in many buildings are damaged.

A school gymnasium has been converted into a shelter in Kamaishi City, Miyagi Prefecture, after an earthquake occurred off the northeastern coast of Japan. Photo: Yomiuri Shimbun via AFP/Ikuya Ushio

As of 6am (New Zealand time) on Tuesday, there was little information about serious damage or casualties from public broadcaster NHK. It quoted a hotel employee in Hachinohe as saying that a number of people were injured and taken to hospital, but all of them were conscious.

“So far, I have heard that seven infections have been reported,” Prime Minister Sanae Takaishi told reporters early Tuesday morning.

The East Japan Railway has suspended some services in the region, which was also hit by a devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake in March 2011.

“There is a possibility of more strong earthquakes over the next few days,” a JMA official said at a press conference.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaishi addresses the media in Tokyo on December 8, 2025, after a strong earthquake. Photo: AFP/Jiji Press

Following the earthquake, the Japan Meteorological Agency issued a warning for a wide area from the northernmost island of Hokkaido all the way to Chiba Prefecture east of Tokyo, calling on residents to be vigilant about the possibility of a strong earthquake occurring again within a week.

The utilities said no violations had been reported at nuclear power plants in the region operated by Tohoku Electric Power and Hokkaido Electric Power. Tohoku Electric Company initially said thousands of homes were without power, but later reduced that number to hundreds.

Tsunami warnings appeared live on television coverage in Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture, northern Japan. Photo: AFP/Greg Baker

The yen fell against major currencies after news of the earthquake, before recovering some of its gains. The dollar touched a session high and was trading at around 155.81 yen around 1533 GMT, while the euro also hit a session high.

Japan is one of the countries in the world most vulnerable to earthquakes, with an earthquake occurring at least every five minutes. Japan is located in the “Ring of Fire” of volcanoes and oceanic trenches that partially surround the Pacific Basin, and Japan witnesses about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes with a magnitude of six or more.

The northeastern region was hit by one of the country's deadliest earthquakes on March 11, 2011, when a 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck under the ocean off the coast of the northern city of Sendai. It was the most powerful typhoon ever recorded in Japan and led to a series of huge tsunami waves that destroyed a wide area of ​​the Pacific coast and killed nearly 20,000 people.

The 2011 tsunami also damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, triggering a series of explosions and meltdowns in the world's worst nuclear disaster in 25 years.

Drawing on lessons learned from that disaster, when a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck two days ago, the government now issues a one-week “major earthquake” warning whenever a major earthquake strikes the region. In the same vein, a strong earthquake warning was issued in August last year for the Nankai Trough area in central-southern Japan.

– Reuters

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