Significant magnitude 5.3 quake hits 96 km east of Miyako, Japan late at night

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) reported a magnitude 5.3 quake in Japan near Miyako, Miyako Shi, Iwate, only 12 minutes ago. The earthquake hit late at night on Sunday, March 8th, 2026, at 11:08 pm local time at a shallow depth of 22. km. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
A second report was later issued by France's Réseau National de Surveillance Sismique (RéNaSS), which listed it as a magnitude 5.4 earthquake. Other agencies reporting the same quake include the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake at magnitude 5.3, and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) at magnitude 5.3.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Yamada (pop. 15,200) located 94 km from the epicenter, Miyako (pop. 51,200) 96 km away, and Kamaishi (pop. 43,100) 105 km away.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.

Earthquake data:
Date & time: Mar 8, 2026 11:08 pm (GMT +10) local time (8 Mar 2026 13:08 GMT)
Magnitude: 5.3
Depth: 22.00 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 39.53°N / 143.05°E (Japan)
Primary data source: EMSC
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