Japan earthquakes

M3.8 earthquake 47 km ENE of Iwaki, Japan

A magnitude 3.8 earthquake struck 47 km ENE of Iwaki, Japan on Thu, Dec 8, 2016, 5:08 AM JST (20:08 UTC), 4 km (3 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.9 13 km NE of Daigo, Japan. This one was a foreshock.

Iwaki forecastMore in Japan

Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude
3.8 (Mwr, regional moment), minor
Magnitude from
USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time
UTC
2016-12-07 20:08:33 UTC
Depth
4.2 km (2.6 mi), shallow
Epicenter
37.174° N, 141.390° E
Region
Japan
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

What happened

The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.

Recorded (1 JMA) in Fukushima, Miyagi and Yamagata.

From the USGS event page for us20007z06. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

Fault motion and ground failure

How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.

Faulting
Normal
Moment magnitude
3.8 Mwr
Nodal plane 1
Strike 6°, dip 52°, rake -112°
Nodal plane 2
Strike 219°, dip 43°, rake -65°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty
About 5.0 km horizontally, 3.4 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.08
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
110°
Stations used
46

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 27 in the 60 days after this one and 107 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us20007z06. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 4:38 AM UTC.