Strong 6.1 magnitude earthquake shakes northern Japan’s Hokkaido

Monday 27 April 2026 - 07:30

A strong earthquake measuring 6.1 in magnitude struck the island of Hokkaido in northern Japan early Monday morning, according to data released by Japanese and U.S. monitoring agencies. The tremor is part of a series of significant seismic events recorded in the region in recent days.

The earthquake occurred shortly before 5:30 a.m. local time (Sunday 21:30 GMT) in southern Hokkaido, at an estimated depth of about 80 kilometers. Authorities confirmed that no tsunami warning was issued following the quake.

Although the affected area is relatively sparsely populated—located roughly 200 kilometers east of Sapporo—officials warned that strong shaking could increase the risk of landslides and falling rocks in nearby areas.

Earlier the same day, a separate offshore earthquake with a magnitude of 5.0 was detected several hundred kilometers south of Hokkaido. This sequence of tremors comes less than a week after a more powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Iwate Prefecture in northern Japan.

That earlier quake injured several people and caused buildings to sway even in Tokyo, far from the epicenter. It also triggered tsunami waves of up to 80 centimeters in some coastal areas, while smaller waves were recorded elsewhere along the northern coastline.

Following these events, Japan’s Meteorological Agency indicated that the probability of another major earthquake remains higher than usual.

Japan is located at the convergence of four major tectonic plates along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” making it one of the most seismically active countries in the world. The nation experiences approximately 1,500 earthquakes each year, accounting for a significant share of global seismic activity.