On Friday Afternoon a Shallow M6.1 Earthquake struck in the East China Sea 194km from Naha (Japan).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on July 3rd, 2026. Last updated August 20th, 2026.

A shallow and strong M6.1 earthquake struck in the East China Sea 194 kilometer from Naha, Japan in the early afternoon of Friday July 3rd, 2026. Shaking may have been felt by a total of 0.9 million people.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the East China Sea, 142 kilometers (88 mi) off the coast of Japan, 194 kilometer west of Naha in Okinawa. 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 3, 2026 13:04 (Tokyo Time) - Jul 3, 2026 04:04 Universal Time.
Location:	194 km west of Naha, Okinawa, Japan. Coordinates 26°4'16"N 125°44'30"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.1 Detected by 46 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.046 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	V Moderate 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 90% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 90% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact.

Roughly 0.9 million people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 0.9 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.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is IV, which corresponds with light shaking and likely no damage. Roughly 459,000 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 460 thousand). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Japan .

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
0	II	Very weak	None
464,700	III	Weak	Probably none
459,000	IV	Light	Likely none
0	V	Moderate	Very light
0	VI	Strong	Light
0	VII	Very Strong	Moderate
0	VIII	Severe	Moderate to heavy
0	IX	Violent	Heavy
0	X	Extreme	Very heavy

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Japan . Hirara in Okinawa, Japan is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 148 kilometer (92 mi) north of Hirara. The intensity of shaking and damage in Hirara is estimated to be around level IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (light shaking, likely no damage).

A complete list of nearby places is included below. Estimated intensity data (MMI) sourced from a shake-map published by the US Geographic Survey is shown where available (cities without data probably experienced little impact).

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
148 km (92 mi) S from epicenter	Hirara Okinawa, Japan.	IV Light
193 km (120 mi) E from epicenter	Itoman Okinawa, Japan.	III Weak
194 km (121 mi) E from epicenter	Naha Okinawa, Japan.	IV Light
194 km (121 mi) E from epicenter	Tomigusuku Okinawa, Japan.	IV Light
201 km (125 mi) E from epicenter	Yonabaru Okinawa, Japan.	III Weak
203 km (126 mi) E from epicenter	Ginowan Okinawa, Japan.	IV Light
203 km (126 mi) E from epicenter	Yomitan Okinawa, Japan.	IV Light
204 km (127 mi) E from epicenter	Chatan Okinawa, Japan.
208 km (129 mi) E from epicenter	Okinawa Okinawa, Japan.
211 km (131 mi) E from epicenter	Ishikawa Okinawa, Japan.
214 km (133 mi) E from epicenter	Gushikawa Okinawa, Japan.
215 km (134 mi) E from epicenter	Katsuren-haebaru Okinawa, Japan.
232 km (144 mi) E from epicenter	Nago Okinawa, Japan.
250 km (155 mi) SW from epicenter	Ishigaki Okinawa, Japan.	III Weak

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

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

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:

Ginowan, Okinawa, Japan: 1 person.

6 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 6 smaller aftershocks. A 4.5 magnitude earthquake hit 5 hrs later 17 km (11 mi) west of this earthquake.

This main shock was prefaced by 2 smaller foreshocks. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 11 mins earlier. It measured a magnitude of 4.9

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the main shock.
Classification	Magnitude	When	Where
Foreshock	M 4.4	3 days earlier Jun 30, 2026 13:59 (Tokyo Time)	71 km (44 mi) SW from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 4.9	11 mins earlier Jul 3, 2026 12:53 (Tokyo Time)	16 km (10 mi) SE from Main Shock.
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 6.1	Jul 3, 2026 13:04 (Tokyo Time)	-
Aftershock	M 4.2	3 hrs later Jul 3, 2026 16:22 (Tokyo Time)	19 km (12 mi) E from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.1	3 hrs later Jul 3, 2026 16:27 (Tokyo Time)	13 km (8 mi) NE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.2	3 hrs later Jul 3, 2026 16:32 (Tokyo Time)	18 km (11 mi) SE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.5	3 hrs later Jul 3, 2026 16:33 (Tokyo Time)	2.3 km (1.4 mi) SW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.5	5 hrs later Jul 3, 2026 18:01 (Tokyo Time)	17 km (11 mi) W from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.2	7 hrs later Jul 3, 2026 20:33 (Tokyo Time)	25 km (16 mi) S from Main Shock.

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

Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).

This is the strongest earthquake in 3 years

Earthquakes of this strength are not so common in the region, but it's not the first time. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since September 18th, 2023, when a 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit 72 km (45 mi) further northwest. An even stronger magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck on November 10th, 2021.

In total, 2 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.1 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 5 years.

Low tsunami risk

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

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

Factor	Under Sea?	MAG-6.5 or stronger?	Shallow depth?
Explanation	Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami.	Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's.	Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor.
This Earthquake	This earthquake appears to have struck under the sea.	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 6.1. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 10 km (6 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 20/08/26 09:58 (). 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.