Japan earthquakes

M4.9 earthquake 158 km ESE of ?funato, Japan

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 158 km ESE of ?funato, Japan on Mon, Jan 19, 1981, 9:30 AM JST (00:30 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M6.1 113 km ESE of ?funato, Japan. This one was a foreshock.

Ōfunato forecast More in Japan

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Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 4.9 (mb), light
Local time: Mon, Jan 19, 1981, 9:30 AM JST
UTC: 1981-01-19 00:30:54 UTC
Depth: 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 38.308° N, 143.256° 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: 55

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 18 in the 60 days after this one and 9 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today Japan earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001bsy (also filed as iscgemsup632870). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 10:51 AM UTC.