June 26, 2026
TOKYO – A magnitude-7.2 earthquake hit the northern Tohoku region at around 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, registering upper 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in Hashikami, Aomori Prefecture and lower 6 in Hachinohe in the prefecture, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
The epicenter was in the Pacific Ocean off Iwate Prefecture while the hypocenter was 44 kilometers deep. No tsunami warning was issued.
Six people in the municipalities of Aomori, Hachinohe and Hashikami in Aomori Prefecture and in Kamaishi in Iwate Prefecture were injured.
The JMA held a press conference at 9:30 a.m., at which it said the earthquake was not subject to its advisory for subsequent large-scale quakes off the coast of Hokkaido or the Sanriku area. The quake occurred within the assumed epicenter area along the Japan and Chishima trenches, but its moment magnitude was 6.8, below the standard — 7.0 or greater — to issue the advisory.
Strong quakes with an intensity of upper 6 or stronger on the seismic intensity scale could occur for about a week, the agency said. It also warned about the growing risk of houses collapsing and landslides.
The fire department headquarters serving Hachinohe, Hashikami and neighboring municipalities said it dispatched fire brigades in response to reports about damage to buildings. Exterior walls of a building were damaged in central Hachinohe. There were also several reports that some people were trapped inside elevators, but they were all safely rescued.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a press conference on Thursday morning that a power outage affected 90 households in Iwate Prefecture.
Public transportation was disrupted. East Japan Railway Co. halted both north and south bound services of Tohoku Shinkansen Line between Tokyo and Shin-Aomori stations. The Tohoku Shinkansen Line between Tokyo and Sendai partially resumed services at about 9:30 a.m., while those between Sendai and Shin-Aomori were restarted at about 2:00 p.m.
According to the Secretariat of the Nuclear Regulation Authority, no abnormalities were reported at Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd.’s Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant in Aomori Prefecture, Tohoku Electric Power Co.’s Higashidori Nuclear Power Stations in the prefecture, or Onagawa Nuclear Power Stations in Miyagi Prefecture.
There were also no abnormalities reported at Hokkaido Electric Power Co.’s Tomari Nuclear Power Plant or Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc.’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.
The quake was the first with an intensity of upper 6 or stronger on the seismic intensity scale since the earthquake that occurred in the Pacific Ocean off eastern Aomori Prefecture in December last year.
The government set up a response team at the Prime Minister’s Office’s Crisis Management Center immediately after the earthquake occurred. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi directed related ministries and agencies to assess the situation and make their best efforts to rescue and assist people in the affected areas.
“I want to urge people in the areas where the tremor was felt strongly to be prepared for a possible earthquake of similar strength,” Takaichi told reporters at the office.