Photo: USGS
A 6.5-magnitude earthquake was reported in Japan on Thursday (March 26), according to the United States Geological Survey.
The earthquake was reported 122 kilometers (about 76 miles) east of Yamada and centered at a depth of 9.5 kilometers (about six miles) at 2:18 p.m. UTC. The USGS said it received zero reports of people having felt the earthquake at the time of publication on Thursday.
There are currently no tsunami warnings, according to Tsunami.gov. There were no reports of aftershocks near Yamada at the time of publication Thursday.
Japan has been hit by more than three earthquakes in the past 24 hours; 15 in the past seven days; 76 in the past 30 days; and 762 in the past 365 days measuring 1.5 magnitude or greater, the largest of which was the 7.6-magnitude earthquake in Misawa on December 8, 2025, according to earthquaketrack.com
Earthquakes measured between 2.5 and 5.4 magnitude can be felt by a large population, however, rarely results in much damage, according to Michigan Tech via the Sacramento Bee. An estimated 500,000 detectable earthquakes are reported worldwide annually, however, around 100,000 are felt and only 100 typically result in serious damage.
Officials strongly advise that anyone caught in an earthquake should drop, cover and hold on, according to the Sacramento Bee.