Japan earthquakes

M4.7 earthquake 146 km ESE of ?funato, Japan

A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 146 km ESE of ?funato, Japan on Tue, Jan 20, 1981, 9:13 AM JST (00:13 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.1 129 km SE of Kamaishi, 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: 4.7 (mb), light
Local time: Tue, Jan 20, 1981, 9:13 AM JST
UTC: 1981-01-20 00:13:57 UTC
Depth: 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 38.423° N, 143.188° 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: 30

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.7 and up: 14 in the 60 days after this one and 14 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 usp0001btj (also filed as iscgem632909). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 4:09 PM UTC.