Overview
- A powerful offshore earthquake off the Sanriku coast registered magnitude 7.7 on Monday and was felt in Tokyo with long, swaying tremors.
- Following the quake, tsunami alerts were issued with initial forecasts up to 3 meters, then downgraded to advisories of up to 1 meter and lifted before midnight after waves around 80 cm hit Kuji in Iwate.
- The Japan Meteorological Agency activated its Subsequent Earthquake Advisory, which signals elevated odds of a magnitude 8 or larger event within seven days and covers 182 municipalities across seven northern prefectures.
- Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi urged people in risk zones to move to higher ground as authorities ordered evacuations for more than 170,000 residents in five prefectures and mobilized emergency response teams.
- Rail operators halted key services including the Tohoku Shinkansen between Tokyo and Shin-Aomori, while plant operators reported no anomalies at Fukushima Daiichi and Daini, Higashidori, and Onagawa, and one injury was confirmed by early evening.