Tokyo, December 9, 2025 – The Europe Today: A powerful magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck off the coast of northern Japan’s Aomori region late Monday night, injuring at least 30 people, damaging infrastructure and leaving thousands without power amid freezing temperatures, according to Japanese officials and media reports.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) stated that the quake occurred at 11:15 pm local time on Monday (1415 GMT). The agency later revised the magnitude from an initial 7.6, warning that the likelihood of strong aftershocks in the coming days remains elevated.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi confirmed that 20 people were injured in areas closest to the epicentre, where seismic sea waves reached up to 70 centimetres. Video footage circulating on social media captured the severity of the quake: shoppers clinging to supermarket tables as goods fell from shelves, major cracks appearing in roads, and at least one vehicle swallowed by a ground fissure.
Early reports indicated several fires across the region, but government spokesperson Minoru Kihara later clarified that only one residential blaze had been confirmed.
Authorities instructed approximately 28,000 residents to evacuate immediately after the quake. Media outlets reported that many temporary shelters reached full capacity as residents sought safety from the cold weather and aftershock risks.
The Shinkansen bullet train service was suspended in certain areas as engineers conducted emergency inspections to assess potential damage. Meanwhile, power operator Tohoku Electric Power confirmed that no abnormalities were detected at either the Higashidori or Onagawa nuclear power plants.
Geologists Kyle Bradley and Judith A. Hubbard commented on the difficulty of predicting whether a major earthquake will be followed by an even stronger one.
“There is no precise method to determine if a powerful quake will trigger a larger event,” they noted. “Historical statistics show that only a small number of major earthquakes are followed by bigger ones.”
Japan has faced devastating seismic disasters in the past, including the 2011 magnitude-9.0 earthquake and tsunami, which left 18,500 people dead or missing and triggered the Fukushima nuclear crisis.
A government panel recently raised the probability of a major quake occurring in the Nankai Trough within the next 30 years to 75–82 percent, underscoring Japan’s vulnerability as it sits atop four significant tectonic plates along the Pacific “Ring of Fire.”
The latest earthquake caused strong shaking, a brief tsunami warning, and moderate structural damage. Authorities remain on high alert, closely monitoring aftershocks and preparing for potential future seismic events.
