Magnitude 5.9 earthquake strikes eastern Japan with tremors felt in Tokyo

Tremors felt across eastern and central Japan

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck eastern Japan during the night between Saturday and Sunday local time, sending strong tremors through the capital city of Tokyo. Ground shaking extended across a broad territory, encompassing north-eastern and central regions of the country. In Tokyo, residents experienced noticeable shaking in residential and commercial buildings during the overnight hours. The seismic waves propagated outward from the epicenter across multiple prefectures in eastern Honshu. Local authorities monitored conditions across the affected urban areas as the shaking subsided.

Epicenter depth and tsunami evaluation

The earthquake had its epicenter in the southern part of Ibaraki Prefecture, situated in eastern Japan. Monitoring data recorded the focal depth of the seismic event at approximately 70 kilometres below the surface. Following the tremor, the Japan Meteorological Agency evaluated potential maritime hazards along the Pacific coast. The agency confirmed that the earthquake presented no tsunami threat to Japanese coastal areas. As a result, authorities issued no tsunami warnings or evacuation advisories for coastal communities.

Regional seismic activity

The tremor in Ibaraki follows an earlier earthquake that struck south-western Japan in late July 2026. That event registered a magnitude of 7.1 in Kumamoto Prefecture, located on the island of Kyushu. The late July earthquake caused structural collapses and left nearly 40 people dead in the south-western region. In contrast to the shallower impacts observed in Kumamoto, the Saturday event in Ibaraki was centered at a depth of 70 kilometres in eastern Japan. Monitoring stations across the country continue tracking seismic readings following both events.