M4.3 earthquake 169 km ESE of ?funato, Japan
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 169 km ESE of ?funato, Japan on Mon, Mar 13, 1978, 11:38 AM JST (02:38 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.6 141 km ESE of Yamada, 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
- 1978-03-13 02:38:39 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 38.377° N, 143.452° 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.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
- Stations used
- 8
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
Before
- 4.9130 km SE of Kamaishi, Japan · 17728 days ago · 30 km deep · 39 km away
- 4.8139 km ESE of Ishinomaki, Japan · 17740 days ago · 29 km deep · 63 km away
- 4.5118 km SE of ?funato, Japan · 17747 days ago · 33 km deep · 58 km away
- 5.1106 km ESE of Ishinomaki, Japan · 17749 days ago · 45 km deep · 87 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000tcd. Read Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 5:41 AM UTC.