Significant magnitude 5.0 earthquake 44 km southeast of Makubetsu, Japan

A very shallow magnitude 5.0 earthquake was reported early morning near Makubetsu, Wakkanai Shi, Hokkaido, Japan.
According to Japan's National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience (NIED), the quake hit on Tuesday, January 13th, 2026, at 1:58 am local time at a very shallow depth of 5. km. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones as they are closer to the surface. 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.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake was probably felt by many people in the area of the epicenter. It should not have caused significant damage, other than objects falling from shelves, broken windows, etc.
In Nakatonbetsu (pop. 1,800) located 14 km from the epicenter, Hamatonbetsu (pop. 3,800) 21 km away, Toyotomi (pop. 4,100) 30 km away, and Esashi (pop. 8,600) 37 km away, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Makubetsu (pop. 26,600) located 44 km from the epicenter, Wakkanai (pop. 33,900) 55 km away, Nayoro (pop. 27,300) 81 km away, and Shibetsu (pop. 17,900) 99 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: Jan 13, 2026 01:58 am (GMT +9) local time (12 Jan 2026 16:58 GMT)
Magnitude: 5.0
Depth: 5.00 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 45.05°N / 142.14°E (Teshio Gun, Hokkaido, Japan)
Primary data source: NIED
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