Significant M5.5 AFTERSHOCK struck on Monday Evening in the North Pacific Ocean near Hachinohe (Japan).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on December 8th, 2025. Last updated December 10th, 2025.

A significant M5.5 aftershock struck in the North Pacific Ocean 97 kilometer from Hachinohe, Japan just before midnight of Monday December 8th, 2025. Shaking may have been felt by a total of 3.3 million people.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 104 kilometers (64 mi) off the coast of Japan, 97 kilometer east-northeast of Hachinohe in Aomori. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 44 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Dec 8, 2025 23:33 (Tokyo Time) - Dec 8, 2025 14:33 Universal Time.
Location:	97 km ENE of Hachinohe, Aomori, Japan. Coordinates 40°50'37"N 142°33'13"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.5 Detected by 136 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.05 .
Depth:	44 km (28 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	IV Light 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 3.3 million people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 3.3 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

Light shaking and likely no damage may have been experienced by an estimated 305,000 people. At IV, it is the highest MMI level this earthquake has caused. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 2.8 million). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Japan .

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Japan . Hachinohe in Aomori, Japan is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 97 kilometer (60 mi) east-northeast of Hachinohe. The intensity of shaking and damage in Hachinohe is estimated to be around level IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (light shaking, likely no damage).

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Sapporo is located 266 km to the north-northwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Hachinohe is located 97 km to the west-southwest and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Aomori is located 153 km to the west and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage).

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below. If places don't have intensity data available, it likely means the experienced impact in those places was fairly small.

Overview of nearby places

Earthquake Intensity Map

The intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is IV.

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 3 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 3 people have reported shaking in 3 places, all within 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:

• Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan: 1 person.
• Natori, Miyagi, Japan: 1 person.
• Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan: 1 person.

This is likely an aftershock

This earthquake was an aftershock. A larger mag. 7.6 earthquake struck 41 km (26 mi) west-northwest in advance of this 5.5 earthquake around 19 mins earlier.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

Earthquakes can create aftershocks. These are generally at least 1 magnitude lower than any main shock, and as time passes the chance and strength of aftershocks decreases.

The chance that a significant earthquake like this one is followed by an even larger earthquake is not so large. On average, scientists estimate a 94% chance that a major earthquake will not be followed by an even larger one. It is still adviced to be aware of this risk

Earthquakes like this happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. In total, 50 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.5 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 2 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 10/12/25 04:58 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000rtdz
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20251208_0000251
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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