On Wednesday Afternoon a Shallow M5.6 Earthquake struck in the East China Sea 100km from Naze (Japan).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on July 2nd, 2025. Last updated July 19th, 2025.

A shallow and significant M5.6 earthquake struck in the East China Sea 100 kilometer from Naze, Japan in the afternoon of Wednesday July 2nd, 2025. Roughly 130 thousand people may have felt this earthquake.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the East China Sea, 94 kilometers (59 mi) off the coast of Japan, 100 kilometer north-northwest of Naze in Kagoshima. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Jul 2, 2025 15:26 (Tokyo Time) - Jul 2, 2025 06:26 Universal Time.
Location:	100 km NNW of Naze, Kagoshima, Japan. Coordinates 29°14'37"N 129°14'39"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.6 Detected by 27 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.06 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VI Strong On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Minimal impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 96% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 96% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 10 million USD.

Roughly 130 thousand people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 130 thousand people. That is the expected population size of the area exposed to a level of shaking of II or higher on the Modified Mercalli scale according to the USGS.

An estimated 21,030 people were exposed to level IV. At this level, light shaking and likely no damage can be expected. The majority of people (roughly 100 thousand) live in an area exposed to level III, where weak shaking and probably no damage is expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Japan .

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Japan . Naze in Kagoshima, Japan is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 100 kilometer (62 mi) north-northwest of Naze. Naze experienced an earthquake intensity (MMI Scale) of roughly III. That level implies weak shaking and probably no damage.

The table below provides an overview of all places in proximity of today's earthquake. Where available, the estimated intensity on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale in each place is included. Places where this information is omitted likely experienced little impact.

Overview of nearby places

Earthquake Intensity Map

The graph below overlays a map of the region around the epicenter with earthquake intensity data provided by the US Geographic Survey. The highest intensity level detected for this earthquake is VI.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Shaking reported by 1 person

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 1 person has reported shaking in one place in Japan.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Kagoshima, Kagoshima, Japan: 1 person.

43 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 43 smaller aftershocks occurred. A 5.5 magnitude earthquake hit 1 day later 24 km (15 mi) north-east of this earthquake.

This main shock was prefaced by 40 smaller foreshocks. Roughly 28 mins before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-5.2 was detected nearby this earthquake.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

Aftershocks are usually at least 1 order of magnitude less strong than main shocks. The more time passes, the smaller the chance and likely strength of any potential aftershocks.

It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.

Earthquakes like this happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since April 2nd, 2025, when a 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit 292 km (181 mi) further north-east. An even stronger magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck on November 13th, 2015.

In total, 22 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.6 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 6 months.

Low tsunami risk

Based on early data it appears this earthquake was not strong enough (lower than MAG-6.5) to be likely to cause destructive tsunami's. However this earthquake appeared to have hit at a shallow depth under sea, so stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Sources

Last updated 19/07/25 08:08 (). This article contains currently available information about the earthquake and is automatically composed. We continue to update this article up to a few days after the earthquake occurred.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000qa5e
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250702_0000073
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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