M4.5 earthquake 138 km S of Kushiro, Japan
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 138 km S of Kushiro, Japan on Wed, Nov 4, 1981, 9:28 PM JST (12:28 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.1 149 km S of Kushiro, Japan. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.5 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-11-04 12:28:50 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 41.746° N, 144.097° 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
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 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayJapan earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001gta (also filed as iscgem608228). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:47 AM UTC.