Powerful Quake Hits Northeastern Japan

From Jiji

December 9 2025

TOKYO – A powerful earthquake mainly struck Japan’s Tohoku northeastern region, including Aomori Prefecture, on Monday night, measuring up to upper 6, the second-highest level on the country’s seismic intensity scale. 
   The temblor, with an estimated magnitude of 7.6, occurred at a depth of about 50 kilometers off the east coast of Aomori around 11:15 p.m., with upper 6 registered in the city of Hachinohe in the prefecture and lower 6, the third-highest level, in the Aomori towns of Oirase and Hashikami.
   The Japan Meteorological Agency issued tsunami warnings to the Pacific coastal area of Aomori and the central part of the Pacific coastal area of the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido as well as Iwate Prefecture, an Aomori neighbor.
   A tsunami of 70 centimeters was observed in the Iwate city of Kuji, a 50-centimeter-high tsunami in the Hokkaido town of Urakawa and 40-centimeter tsunamis in places including the Aomori village of Rokkasho, according to the agency.
   Tsunami advisories were issued to the eastern and western parts of the Pacific coastal area of Hokkaido, the Sea of Japan coastal area of Aomori, and Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures in Tohoku.