Reviewed by USGSJapan6d ago
M5.1 earthquake 14 km WNW of Naze, Japan
Sunday, September 20, 2026, 07:28:22 UTC · 28.395°N, 129.341°E
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 14 km WNW of Naze, Japan on Sunday, September 20, 2026, 07:28:22 UTC, at a depth of 68.8 km (shallow). USGS received 1 “Did You Feel It?” report, with a maximum reported intensity of III (weak). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.1 on September 12, 2026.
- Magnitude
- 5.1
- Moderate · mww
- Depth
- 69 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 1
- Max intensity III
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
674 tons of TNT
That is about 1/22 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
76 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Yangtze and Okinawa plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
69 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
Reports sent by people to USGS, grouped by place (most reports first). Intensity uses the Modified Mercalli scale (I–X): what people felt, not the magnitude.
| Place | Intensity | Reports | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Naze, Kagoshima, Japan | III · Weak | 1 | 70 km |
USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km since this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 754 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9108 km NW of Naze, JapanJune 15, 1911 · 98 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.678 km S of Naze, JapanJune 16, 1938 · 83 km S of this epicenter
- 7.4152 km ESE of Koshima, JapanFebruary 1, 1916 · 276 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2Ryukyu Islands, JapanJune 24, 1901 · 78 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.2101 km NE of Naze, JapanNovember 5, 1923 · 112 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.183 km SE of Naze, JapanOctober 18, 1995 · 97 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.0126 km ESE of Koshima, JapanJuly 18, 1961 · 270 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0122 km SSE of Koshima, JapanMarch 21, 1942 · 169 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 12 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 12 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1911M8.0
Ryukyu Islands
15 Jun 1911 · 78 km away
12 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1901M7.9
Ryukyu Islands
24 Jun 1901 · 168 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1995M7.1
Ryuku Is.
18 Oct 1995 · 97 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 2010M7.0
Tori Shima, Okinawa
26 Feb 2010 · 289 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1916M8.0
Duda
1 Feb 1916 · 243 km away
- 1904M7.9
Kyushu
24 Aug 1904 · 190 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.