Overview
- - A powerful undersea quake off Iwate Prefecture, which struck Monday at 4:53 p.m. local time, was revised by Japan’s Meteorological Agency from magnitude 7.4 to about 7.5–7.7 and was felt as far as Tokyo.
- - Small tsunami waves followed, including about 80 cm at Kuji and 40 cm at Miyako, and initial warnings for up to 3 meters were later downgraded and then lifted in many areas.
- - The prime minister’s office activated an emergency task force and local authorities issued evacuation advisories or orders to more than 120,000 people, with bullet trains and some local lines halted before service began to resume.
- - Utility operators reported no abnormalities at coastal nuclear plants, including Fukushima Daiichi and Daini and Tohoku Electric facilities at Onagawa and Higashidori, while safety checks continued.
- - The Cabinet Office and JMA issued a special advisory estimating roughly a 1% chance of a magnitude‑8 or stronger event in the coming week, a precaution that aims to keep residents prepared in a region where quakes are common and shaking reached “upper 5” on Japan’s intensity scale.