M4.3 earthquake 7 km NNW of Kimitsu, Japan
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 7 km NNW of Kimitsu, Japan on Sat, Dec 31, 1977, 11:42 AM JST (02:42 UTC), 51 km (32 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.6 23 km SE of It?, Japan. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.3 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1977-12-31 02:42:35 UTC
- Depth
- 51.0 km (31.7 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 35.404° N, 139.827° E
- Region
- Japan
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Stations used
- 11
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.927 km ENE of Shimoda, Japan · 17791 days ago · 18 km deep · 92 km away
- 5.230 km E of Shimoda, Japan · 17791 days ago · 18 km deep · 93 km away
- 5.222 km SE of It?, Japan · 17791 days ago · 7 km deep · 86 km away
- 6.623 km SE of It?, Japan · 17791 days ago · 14 km deep · 84 km away
- 4.130 km E of Shimoda, Japan · 17789 days ago · 10 km deep · 96 km away
- 4.210 km SSE of Sawara, Japan · 17780 days ago · 42 km deep · 76 km away
- 4.44 km NW of Iwai, Japan · 17757 days ago · 64 km deep · 75 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayJapan earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000sa5. Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 3:48 AM UTC.