Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi says the government has formed a crisis management team after the strong earthquake.
Published on 20 April 2026
A strong magnitude 7.5 earthquake has struck northern Japan, prompting authorities to issue a tsunami warning for waves up to 3 meters (10 feet).
The quake struck at 4:53 pm local time (07:53 GMT) on Monday in waters off Iwate Prefecture on Japan’s Pacific coast, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). It was felt over a wide area, shaking buildings in Tokyo hundreds of kilometers (miles) to the south.
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The JMA warned that the first tsunami waves could reach parts of the northern coast immediately. “Immediately evacuate coastal areas and riverbanks to a safe place such as higher ground or an evacuation building,” the agency said.
“There is a possibility of repeated tsunami waves. Do not leave the safe place until the warning is lifted.”
Live footage from public broadcaster NHK showed no immediate signs of damage at several ports in Iwate.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the government had set up a crisis management team and was working to assess the quake’s impact.
“For those of you who live in areas for which warnings have been issued, please move to higher, safer places such as higher elevations,” Takaichi told reporters.
He said officials were still trying to confirm whether there were any casualties or damage to property.
Japan is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world, located on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where several tectonic plates meet. About 1,500 earthquakes occur here every year and it is responsible for about 18 percent of the world’s seismic activity.
Memories are still strong of the devastating magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern Japan in 2011, killing about 18,500 people and causing the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Authorities have also raised concerns in recent years over the risk of a strong earthquake along the Nankai Trough, an undersea trench 800 km (497 miles) south of Japan where the Philippine Sea Plate is slipping beneath the continental plate.
The JMA issued rare “megaquake” advisories in 2024 and again in December last year, as strong offshore shaking raised fears of a future catastrophic event.
