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M5.3 Earthquake near Off East Coast of Honshu, Japan

UTC time: 2026-03-08 13:08:36 UTC Local time: —

Earthquake newsQuakeMap24

Archive record · original publication time was not recorded

Automatically generated from measurement data by QuakeMap24. Values may change after further analysis.

Magnitude

M5.3

Depth: 17.0 km
Source: GFZ

Off East Coast of Honshu, Japan

Map

About this earthquake

A magnitude M5.3 earthquake was recorded near Off East Coast of Honshu, Japan on March 8, 2026 at 13:08 UTC. The hypocenter lay relatively close to the surface at around 17 km, increasing how strongly it was felt. Events of this size can cause damage near the epicenter.

The event was recorded by GFZ.

Details

4f6cdff043ecf16e325609997cfd036930b39d17

Magnitude

M5.3

Depth

17.0 km

UTC time

2026-03-08 13:08:36 UTC

Local time

—

Country

—

Source

gfz

Coordinates

39.47000, 143.09000

Temperature

3.0°C

Depth profile

Shallow

17 km

Why depth matters

Shallow quakes release energy near the surface — shaking is felt more strongly and damage potential is higher.

Depth classes per USGS

Nearby population centers

Distances are straight-line distances from the epicenter. Population data: GeoNames.

PlaceDistanceDirectionPopulation

Yamada97.9 kmW15'195

Morioka168.2 kmW290'700

Sendai234.4 kmSW1'096'704

GeoNames · CC BY 4.0

Volcanoes nearby

Iwatesan Activity reported

Distance: 184 km ·Complex ·Elevation: 2'038 m ·Last eruption: 1919 ·Japan
Hachimantai

Distance: 199 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'613 m ·Last eruption: -5350 ·Japan
Akita-Komagatake

Distance: 199 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 1'637 m ·Last eruption: 1971 ·Japan
Kurikomayama

Distance: 206 km ·Stratovolcano ·Last eruption: 1950 ·Japan
Akita-Yakeyama

Distance: 207 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'366 m ·Last eruption: 1997 ·Japan
Naruko

Distance: 219 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 470 m ·Last eruption: 837 ·Japan

Subsequent earthquakes nearby

Events recorded after this earthquake within 150 km. They are not automatically classified as aftershocks.

First 6 hours5

First 24 hours5

First 72 hours6

Strongest subsequent eventM6.5

M5.42026-03-08 13:08:37 UTC18.6 kmOFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN M5.42026-03-08 13:08:38 UTC43.7 kmEvent of magnitude 5.4, near of Sendai (Monde) M5.72026-03-08 13:17:06 UTC24.4 kmOff East Coast of Honshu, Japan M5.92026-03-08 13:17:08 UTC12.9 km110 km E of Yamada, Japan M5.12026-03-08 13:17:09 UTC90.8 km M4.92026-03-09 21:06:04 UTC128.4 kmOff East Coast of Honshu, Japan M5.32026-03-13 19:55:18 UTC58.6 kmOff East Coast of Honshu, Japan M5.42026-03-13 19:55:22 UTC17.1 kmOff East Coast of Honshu, Japan M3.22026-03-15 08:31:30 UTC88.6 kmgong gu shi M5.02026-03-26 07:37:54 UTC147.6 kmNear east coast of eastern Honshu M5.12026-03-26 08:51:54 UTC52.4 kmEvent of magnitude 5.1, near of Sendai (Monde) M4.62026-03-26 08:51:55 UTC9.3 kmOff east coast of Honshu

No unambiguous area assignment

Context for this earthquake

This event has no unambiguous country assignment in the analysed catalogue. It is therefore not assigned to a regional profile.

Earthquake overview

Historical context nearby

Comparison with recorded earthquakes before this event within 150 km.

Magnitude rank#86

Earlier events M≥4308

Earlier events M≥5171

Compared since2025-01-05

The QuakeMap24 comparison dataset begins on 2024-03-23. Earlier earthquakes may not be included.

Strongest earlier events

M6.82025-11-09 08:03:38 UTC28.8 km126 km E of Yamada, Japan M6.82025-11-09 08:03:38 UTC19.0 kmOFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN M6.82025-11-09 08:03:38 UTC28.8 km M6.72025-11-09 08:03:42 UTC36.1 km133 km E of Yamada, Japan M6.72025-11-09 08:03:39 UTC26.4 kmOff east coast of Honshu, Japan [Sea: Japan]

Stats (last 24h)

Global (24h)

519

Country (24h)

—

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