December 17, 1987 Earthquake: Chiba Perfecture, Tokyo, Honshu, Japan
A magnitude 6 earthquake struck Chiba Perfecture, Tokyo, Honshu, Japan on December 17, 1987 at 02:08:19 UTC, 63 km below the surface. It killed 2 people.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- December 17, 1987
- Time
- 02:08:19 UTC
- Place
- Chiba Perfecture, Tokyo, Honshu, Japan
- Magnitude
- 6 (mb)
- Focal depth
- 63 km (39 mi)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 35.362° N, 140.214° E
- Country
- Japan
The toll
- Deaths
- 2
- Injuries
- 66
- Damage
- $5 million
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Two people killed, 66 injured and damage in Chiba Prefecture and the Tokyo area. Felt (V JMA) at Choshi , Chiba and Katsuuro; ( IV JMA) in the Tokyo-Yokohama-Mito-Kumogoyo area; (III JMA) in the Onahoma-Shizuaka-Iida area and on Oshima and Hachijo-jima. Felt (1 JMA) from Tot tori to Sendai.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- September 1, 1923, Tokyo, Yokohama, Japan
- May 27, 1293, Kamakura, Japan
- November 11, 1855, Tokyo, Japan
- December 30, 1703, Off SW Boso Peninsula, Japan
- November 4, 1677, Off SE. Boso Peninsula, Japan
- November 25, 1930, Idu, Honshu, Japan
- July 29, 1649, Tokyo, Japan
- September 12, 1495, Kamakura, Japan
- March 1, 1633, Odawara, Japan
- March 11, 1853, Odawara, Japan
- May 8, 1974, Nakagi, Japan
- January 14, 1978, Tokkaido, Oshima, Japan
- June 20, 1894, Tokyo, Japan
- September 21, 1931, Honshu, Japan
- January 15, 1924, Sagami, Japan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1987The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1987Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 5153.