Earthquakes in Japan — December 2025

80 earthquakes were recorded in Japan during December 2025, an average of 2.6 per day.

80 reached magnitude 4 or above and 29 reached magnitude 5 or above. The average focal depth was 88 km.

The month's largest event in Japan was a magnitude 7.6 earthquake near Misawa, Japan on 08 December 2025 at 14:15 UTC. A magnitude 7.6 earthquake radiates roughly 3.8 million tons of TNT equivalent in seismic energy.

That is well above the Japan monthly average of 57 events over the period we cover — an unusually active month, and down from the 97 recorded the previous month.

81% of events here are shallow (under 70 km), 8% intermediate (70–300 km) and 11% deep-focus (over 300 km). That proportion of deep-focus events is the signature of a subduction zone: only a cold slab descending into the mantle stays brittle enough to rupture at those depths.

By band, the catalogue holds 51 in the magnitude 4 range, 23 in the magnitude 5 range, 4 in the magnitude 6 range, 2 in the magnitude 7 range.

Activity peaked on 08 December, when 11 events were recorded.

2 event(s) this month carry a USGS link to NOAA tsunami information; the flag does not indicate whether a tsunami occurred.

The month's largest events were M7.6 near Misawa, Japan on 08 December at 51 km; M7.6 near Misawa, Japan on 08 December at 44 km; M6.7 near Kuji, Japan on 12 December at 16 km.

That is 41% above the 57 events Japan averages per month across the 21 months on record.

This month also holds the strongest earthquake recorded in Japan in our entire catalogue.