September 20, 2003 Earthquake: Tokyo, Honshu, Japan
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck Tokyo, Honshu, Japan on September 20, 2003 at 03:54:50 UTC, 52 km below the surface.
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
- September 20, 2003
- Time
- 03:54:50 UTC
- Place
- Tokyo, Honshu, Japan
- Magnitude
- 5.7 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 52 km (32 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 34.998° N, 140.172° E
- Country
- Japan
The toll
- Injuries
- 7
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses damaged
- Some (about 51 to 100)
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.
At least 7 people injured and some buildings
damaged at Tokyo. Recorded (4 JMA) in Chiba, Gumma,
Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Saitama, Tochigi and Tokyo; (3 JMA)
in Fukushima, Nagano, Niigata and Yamanashi; (2 JMA)
in Miyagi and Shizuoka; (1 JMA) in Aichi, Aomori,
Iwate and Yamagata Prefectures. Also recorded (2 JMA)
on Kozu-shima, Mikura-jima, Miyaki-jima, Nii-jima and
O-shima; (1 JMA) on Aoga-shima and Hachijo-jima. (reference #1053)
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 2003The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2003Recent 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 5721.