A 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck off Japan’s Miyazaki Prefecture on Thursday morning local time — the second major quake in the same region in 48 hours, following Tuesday’s 6.6-magnitude event. The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami advisory for Kochi and Miyazaki prefectures, with waves of up to 0.5 metres observed along the Pacific coast. No casualties were reported. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba convened an emergency government task force and urged residents in affected coastal areas to move to higher ground immediately. Operations at Miyazaki Airport were temporarily suspended. The earthquake follows a series of moderate seismic events in the Nankai Trough region, which scientists have long identified as capable of producing a magnitude 9-class event.
Japan sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, one of the most seismically active zones on Earth, and has built some of the world’s most advanced early-warning systems. Thursday’s quake comes less than two weeks after a 7.4-magnitude event struck near Hokkaido in the north, straining emergency response capacity nationally. The successive events in Kyushu — Japan’s southernmost main island — have raised fresh concern among seismologists about stress accumulation along the Nankai Trough’s western segment. Japan’s Earthquake Research Committee said it was analysing whether Thursday’s event increased the probability of a larger quake along the trough.
Neighbouring countries issued precautionary advisories. South Korea’s weather agency warned of minor sea-level fluctuations along its southern coast, while the Philippines’ volcanology institute said no evacuation was required but was monitoring the situation. Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration said it had no tsunami warning in effect. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said it was tracking the event but had not issued a wider Pacific alert. Regional markets were monitoring the situation; the Nikkei 225 fell 0.4 percent in early trading before recovering.
Emergency services in Miyazaki and Oita prefectures responded to infrastructure damage reports including cracked roads and a partial roof collapse at a shopping centre in Miyazaki city. Power outages affected approximately 4,300 households in the region. Shinkansen bullet train services between Hakata and Kagoshima were suspended for safety checks. Local officials said shelters had been opened in six municipalities as a precautionary measure. Japan’s Self-Defense Forces were placed on standby to assist in rescue and relief operations if needed.
Sources: Japan Meteorological Agency, NHK, Reuters, AP, Kyodo News, The Japan Times.