Late-Night 7.5 Earthquake Rocks Northeastern Japan

TEHRAN (Defapress) - A powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck late Monday night in the Pacific Ocean approximately 80 km off the coast of Aomori Prefecture, northern Honshu, prompting tsunami advisories, minor injuries, and limited infrastructure disruptions across northeastern Japan.

The quake occurred at 11:15 p.m. local time at a depth of 44 km, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (which recorded it as magnitude 7.6). The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) reported tsunami waves of up to 70 cm in Kuji port, Iwate Prefecture, and up to 50 cm along other coastal areas. Some oyster farming rafts were damaged, but all tsunami advisories were lifted by 6:30 a.m. Tuesday.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency confirmed at least 33 injuries, one serious, serious. Most injuries were caused by falling objects. No fatalities have been reported.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi convened an emergency task force and stated, “We are putting people’s lives first and doing everything we can.” Speaking at a parliamentary session, she urged citizens to remain vigilant and prioritize their own safety.

Approximately 800 households temporarily lost power, and Shinkansen bullet train services, together with some local lines in the Tohoku region, were suspended overnight. East Japan Railway aims to resume high-speed services later Tuesday. Power supply was largely restored by morning, according to Tohoku Electric Power Co.

At New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, around 200 passengers spent the night stranded after part of the domestic terminal ceiling collapsed. The affected section remains closed.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority reported that roughly 450 liters of water were spilled from a spent-fuel cooling pool at the Rokkasho reprocessing plant in Aomori Prefecture. Water levels stayed within normal operational range, and no external radiation leakage or safety concerns were identified. No abnormalities were detected at any other nuclear facilities in the region.

Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said about 480 residents were sheltered at Hachinohe Air Base, and 18 defense helicopters were mobilized for a damage assessment. The JMA warned of continued aftershocks over the coming week and noted a slightly elevated probability of a magnitude-8-class earthquake along the Pacific coast from Chiba Prefecture to Hokkaido. Officials stressed that residents in 182 municipalities should review their emergency preparations, emphasizing that the alert is precautionary rather than a specific prediction.

Monday’s event occurred just north of the area devastated by the 2011 magnitude-9.0 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, which claimed nearly 20,000 lives and triggered the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. JMA official Satoshi Harada reminded the public: “You need to prepare, assuming that a disaster like that could happen again.”

Smaller but still significant aftershocks, including a magnitude 6.6 and a 5.1, continued to rattle the region throughout Tuesday.