2025 Tokara Islands earthquakes
Series of earthquakes in southwest Japan
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On 21 June 2025, an intensive earthquake swarm started near the lightly populated Tokara Islands, located in the East China Sea and administered by Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.[2][3][4] The most intense shaking registered a 6- on the JMA Shindo scale on 3 July, and the most powerful earthquake was a Mw 5.6 on 2 July.[5] This earthquake swarm is the most intense such since 1995.[2] 31 residents requested evacuation to the mainland following several earthquakes of Shindo 5+, or approximately VII on the Mercalli scale.[6][7] Only cracks in roads and a schoolyard,[8] as well as landslides and rockfalls, were reported in the islands, with no documented injuries.[9] A strange roaring from the sea before the earthquakes has also been noted, and the quakes have been strong and constant enough to substantially interrupt sleep.[10]
Map of JMA seismic intensities for the 3 July event | |
  Location within Ryukyu Islands | |
| UTC time |
|
|---|---|
| ISC event | |
| USGS-ANSS | |
| Local date |
|
| Local time | |
| Magnitude |
|
| Depth |
|
| Epicenter | Tatsugō, Kagoshima 29.227°N 129.316°E (strongest tremor) |
| Type | Strike-slip (strongest tremor) |
| Areas affected | Tokara Islands |
| Max. intensity | JMA 6− (MMI VII)[1] |
| Casualties | None |
List of earthquakes
| Time (JST) | Epicenter | Magnitude (USGS) |
Intensity (Shindo) |
Depth | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 June 18:33 | 29.321°N 129.392°E | Mw 5.2 | JMA 5− | 10 km (6 mi) (USGS) 30 km (19 mi) (JMA) |
[11][12] |
| 2 July 4:32 | 29.331°N 129.406°E | Mw 5.1 | JMA 5− | 10 km (6 mi) (USGS) 30 km (19 mi) (JMA) |
[13][14] |
| 2 July 15:26 | 29.244°N 129.244°E | Mw 5.6 | JMA 5− | 10 km (6 mi) (USGS) 10 km (6 mi) (JMA) |
[15][16] |
| 3 July 16:13 | 29.416°N 129.395°E | Mw 5.5 | JMA 6− | 10 km (6 mi) (USGS) 20 km (12 mi) (JMA) |
[17][18] |
| 5 July 6:29 | 29.348°N 129.269°E | Mw 5.4 | JMA 5+ | 10 km (6 mi) (USGS) 20 km (12 mi) (JMA) |
[19][20] |
| 6 July 14:01 | 29.353°N 129.481°E | Mw 4.9 | JMA 5+ | 10 km (6 mi) (USGS) 20 km (12 mi) (JMA) |
[21][22] |
| 6 July 14:07 | 29.376°N 129.552°E | Mw 5.5 | JMA 5+ | 10 km (6 mi) (USGS) 20 km (12 mi) (JMA) |
[23][24] |
| 7 July 00:12 | 29.286°N 129.692°E | mb 4.9 | JMA 5− | 10 km (6 mi) (USGS) 20 km (12 mi) (JMA) |
[25][26] |
Response
The earthquake swarm has prompted evacuations from the islands of Akusekijima and Kodakarajima.[27]
Manga connection
The earthquake swarm was connected by the Japanese public to the manga The Future I Saw, which told of a large tsunami[a] on 5 July in the Philippine Sea. The Japan Meteorological Agency denied the predictive validity of pseudo-science: "1-Minute Explainer: Can you trust social media claims about the 'Tokara Rule'[28] or predictions of a major disaster on the 5th? (Mainichi Shimbun)".[29]
