No major damage reported after M7.2 quake off Iwate

TOKYO — Saucepans fell out of kitchen cupboards and security cameras wobbled violently but no serious casualties or major damage were reported when a strong 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck off northern Japan on Thursday.

Tremors were felt several hundred kilometers away in Tokyo from the quake in the sea off Iwate Prefecture on the main island of Honshu at 7:30 a.m. No tsunami warning was issued.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said the magnitude was 6.9 but later revised it to 7.2, saying the epicenter was at a depth of 44 kilometers.

Mutsumi Shimohata, 61, a food processing company employee in Hashikami in Aomori Prefecture, told AFP that the only damage in her home was a picture frame falling down.

"The quake occurred when I was at home, and an alarm (on her smartphone) went off an instant later. I was surprised, and it felt a bit long," Shimohata told AFP. "There was no damage to our house, but our company told us to stay home and on standby today, as the office's automatic door stopped opening, and parts of the ceiling collapsed."

Japanese television footage showed kitchen cupboards having disgorged saucepans in a heap and goods on the floor in shops.

Some shinkansen bullet train services were suspended and a primary school principal told NHK that her school in Hashikami was temporarily closed because of the quake.

The fire department for Hashikami and Hachinohe received at least four emergency calls while there was a report that people were stuck in a lift, the public broadcaster reported.

There were also reports of stuck doors and a tanker truck overturned, NHK said.

"At this time, there is no information indicating any human casualties, but we will continue to monitor and assess the situation regarding damage," top government spokesman Minoru Kihara said.

No abnormalities were reported at nuclear power stations in the region, the Nuclear Regulation Authority said, according to Kyodo News.

NHK showed regular traffic in Hachinohe city with traffic lights still functioning as normal.

In Aomori, the tremors registered upper six on Japan's seven-level Shindo intensity scale.

At that level, people may be unable to remain standing without support and can be thrown off their feet, while unsecured furniture is likely to topple and windows may shatter, according to the JMA.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ordered ministries and government agencies to work closely with local authorities.

"I ask residents in areas that experienced strong shaking to remain alert for the possibility of additional earthquakes of similar intensity," Takaichi said on X.

Japan is one of the world's most seismically active countries, sitting on top of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific "Ring of Fire".

The archipelago, home to around 125 million people, typically experiences hundreds of jolts every year and accounts for about 18 percent of the world's earthquakes.

The vast majority are mild, although the damage they cause varies according to their location and the depth below the Earth's surface at which they strike.

It is haunted by the memory of a massive 9.0-magnitude undersea quake in 2011, which triggered a tsunami that killed or left missing around 18,500 people and wrecked the Fukushima nuclear plant.

On April 20 this year, a tremor measuring 7.7 hit the country's north, injuring at least 10 people and shaking large buildings in Tokyo.

This prompted authorities to issue a special advisory warning of an increased risk of earthquakes of magnitude 8.0 or stronger.

The advisory was lifted after a week.

© 2026 AFP