Magnitude 6.2 quake strikes Japan’s Hokkaido, JMA warns of more to come

The temblor, and another hours earlier, come less than a week after last Monday’s 7.7 earthquake off northern Iwate prefecture

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Waves hit Tomakomai in Hokkaido prefecture following an earthquake on April 20. Photo: Kyodo/Reuters

Published: 8:20am, 27 Apr 2026Updated: 9:34am, 27 Apr 2026

A strong earthquake rattled Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido early on Monday, US and Japanese meteorological agencies reported, the latest in a series of powerful tremors to hit the island nation.

The 6.2-magnitude quake struck at 5.23am in Hokkaido’s southern region, at a depth of 83km (52 miles), the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) reported, revising its preliminary estimate of magnitude 6.1.

No tsunami alert was issued, JMA said, and the US Geological Survey predicted that damage to property and threat to life was minimal, given the limited population in the region some 200km east of Sapporo.

But “in areas that experienced strong shaking, the danger of falling rocks and landslides has increased”, a JMA official told reporters.

A local resident evacuates to higher ground after a tsunami warning was issued following an earthquake in Kushiro on Hokkaido. Photo: Kyodo/Reuters

JMA also warned that risks of experiencing more quakes of a similar strength in the area in the coming week were high.

Hours earlier, a magnitude 5.0 earthquake occurred in the sea a few hundred kilometres south of Hokkaido.

Magnitude 6.2 quake strikes Japan’s Hokkaido, JMA warns of more to come

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The temblor, and another hours earlier, come less than a week after last Monday’s 7.7 earthquake off northern Iwate prefecture

The temblor, and another hours earlier, come less than a week after last Monday’s 7.7 earthquake off northern Iwate prefecture