Magnitude 5.2 earthquake strikes near Kahoku, Kahoku Shi, Ishikawa-ken, Japan

Japan's National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience (NIED) reported a magnitude 5.2 quake in Japan near Kahoku, Kahoku Shi, Ishikawa-ken, only 18 minutes ago. The earthquake hit in the morning on Wednesday, May 20th, 2026, at 8:30 am local time at a great depth of 421.70 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.
Towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Kahoku (pop. 34,900) located 98 km from the epicenter, Kanazawa (pop. 466,000) 101 km away, Matsuto (pop. 110,400) 104 km away, and Komatsu (pop. 108,500) 107 km away. In Sakai (pop. 92,200, 121 km away), and Takaoka (pop. 170,100, 123 km away), the quake was probably not felt.
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: May 20, 2026 08:30 am (GMT +9) local time (19 May 2026 23:30 GMT)
Magnitude: 5.2
Depth: 421.70 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 37.17°N / 135.73°E (Japan)
Primary data source: NIED
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquake/news/302921/Magnitude-52-earthquake-strikes-near-Kahoku-Kahoku-Shi-Ishikawa-ken-Japan.html