On Wednesday Evening a Shallow M6.0 Earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean 100km from Miyako (Japan).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on December 31st, 2025. Last updated January 28th, 2026.

A shallow and strong MAG-6.0 earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean 100 kilometer from Miyako, Japan in the evening of Wednesday December 31st, 2025. Around 3.5 million people have been exposed to shaking.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 111 kilometers (69 mi) off the coast of Japan, 100 kilometer east-northeast of Miyako in Iwate. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 27 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Dec 31, 2025 23:26 (Tokyo Time) - Dec 31, 2025 14:26 Universal Time.
Location:	100 km ENE of Miyako, Iwate, Japan. Coordinates 40°6'58"N 142°56'43"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.0 Detected by 35 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.052 .
Depth:	27 km (17 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 3.5 million people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 3.5 million 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 479,800 people were exposed to level IV. At this level, light shaking and likely no damage can be expected. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 3 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 . Miyako in Iwate, Japan is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 100 kilometer (62 mi) east-northeast of Miyako. The intensity of shaking and damage in Miyako is estimated to be around level III on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (weak shaking, probably no damage).

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Sapporo is located 354 km to the north-northwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Sendai is located 273 km to the southwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Morioka is located 160 km to the west-southwest 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 2 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 2 people have reported shaking in 2 places 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:

• Morioka, Iwate, Japan: 1 person.
• Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan: 1 person.

3 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 3 smaller aftershocks. A 4.9 magnitude earthquake hit 2 hrs later 95 km (59 mi) north of this earthquake.

This main shock was prefaced by 3 smaller foreshocks. A 4.8 magnitude earthquake hit 15 hrs earlier nearby.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.

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. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since December 12th, 2025, when a 6.7 magnitude earthquake hit 81 km (50 mi) further north. An even stronger magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck on December 8th, 2025.

In total, 28 earthquakes with a magnitude of 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 4 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 28/01/26 17:58 (). 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 us7000rlq3
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20251231_0000197
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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