A powerful earthquake has struck off the coast of northern Japan, triggering local tsunami warnings and advisories.
As of 10am, Monday 20 April 2026, Japan’s Meteorological Agency reports the earthquake occurred at a depth of 10km, at the local time of 4.53pm, off the coast of Sanriku, Iwate Prefecture.
The agency has since noted that the earthquake was a magnitude 7.5, with an intensity of upper 5 on the Japanese scale of 0 to 7 in the hardest-hit areas.
According to the national broadcaster NHK, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told news reporters, “Residents in areas where tsunami warnings have been issued should immediately evacuate to higher ground or safer locations such as evacuation buildings.”
Authorities are doing their “utmost to assess the damage, implement emergency disaster response measures such as search and rescue operations, and provide timely and accurate information to the public… At this time, we are still confirming the extent of human and material damage, but we will receive detailed reports shortly and proceed with disaster response efforts.”
Tsunami warnings were issued for Iwate Prefecture, Hokkaido, Aomori, Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures, with estimated wave heights between one and three metres.
NHK reports that the Tohoku Shinkansen bullet train has been suspended between Tokyo Station and Shin-Aomori Station, as have all local JR lines in Iwate Prefecture.
There are no reports of abnormalities at key coastal nuclear plants at the time of writing, but assessments are ongoing.
The Japan Meteorological Agency’s map here highlights the areas of Japan’s northern coastline most likely to be affected by the tsunami waves.
This is an ongoing news story and will be updated accordingly.
AloJapan.com