Magnitude 5.9 Earthquake Rattles Tokyo and Eastern Japan
- An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 rattled eastern Japan early Sunday, shaking the Tokyo area and triggering emergency mobile phone alerts, according to the Japan Meteorological...
- Shaking reached an intensity of lower 5 on Japan’s seven-point shindo scale in Tokyo’s Adachi Ward, as well as across Ibaraki, Saitama, and Chiba prefectures.
- Authorities across the affected prefectures worked to confirm injuries and property damage in the hours after the quake.
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 rattled eastern Japan early Sunday, shaking the Tokyo area and triggering emergency mobile phone alerts, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency and the U.S. Geological Survey, which recorded the preliminary magnitude at 5.8. The tremor struck at 2 a.m. local time, centered in southern Ibaraki Prefecture at a depth of 42 miles, or 70 kilometers. The Japan Meteorological Agency reported no danger of a tsunami following the earthquake. Shaking lasted up to a minute in some areas as residents woke to emergency warnings sounding on their mobile devices.
Seismic Intensity and Regional Impact
Shaking reached an intensity of lower 5 on Japan’s seven-point shindo scale in Tokyo’s Adachi Ward, as well as across Ibaraki, Saitama, and Chiba prefectures. A lower 5 rating can cause objects to fall off shelves and prompt people to grab onto things due to severe shaking. Level 4 shaking was recorded across other parts of Tokyo, alongside Tochigi, Gunma, and Kanagawa prefectures. NHK public television observed Level 2 long-period ground motion in Kawaguchi, Urayasu, and Tokyo’s Koto and Edogawa wards, indicating slow, prolonged shaking capable of causing high-rise buildings to sway significantly. Despite the widespread motion, traffic on roads in nearby cities such as Mito and Saitama appeared normal in NHK broadcast footage. JR East began checking rail lines immediately following the tremor to determine whether first trains could operate as usual.
Damage Reports and Government Response
Authorities across the affected prefectures worked to confirm injuries and property damage in the hours after the quake. The city of Kawasaki reported two injuries as of 3 a.m. local time, according to NHK. In Tokyo’s eastern ward of Koto, an underground water pipe ruptured in the Kiyosumi area, sending water pouring onto the road, though news reports noted it was not yet confirmed whether the earthquake caused the break. TEPCO Power Grid reported that about 460 homes in Tokyo experienced power outages. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi established a liaison office at the Prime Minister’s Office Crisis Management Center within an hour of the tremor. Writing on X, Takaichi stated that a government task force was assessing the extent of possible damage and urged residents in areas with strong shaking to remain vigilant for the possibility of another earthquake of similar magnitude. In the village of Tokai in Ibaraki Prefecture, shaking registered at an intensity of 3 on the shindo scale. The Japan Atomic Power Company confirmed that no abnormalities were found at its Tokai No. 2 nuclear power plant, while safety checks remained ongoing at the Tokai plant, which is currently being decommissioned. The Tokai No. 2 facility has been offline for an extended period. Sunday’s event followed a magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck the Kumamoto area on Japan’s southernmost island of Kyushu last month, which killed 38 people, injured 364, and damaged thousands of buildings.
