A magnitude 6.0 earthquake shook the waters near Japan’s Iwo Jima just after midnight-12:34 a.m. on May 15, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The quake happened pretty close to the surface, about 10 kilometers deep, near Hahajima in the Ogasawara Islands.
The epicenter sat at 24.9°N and 142.5°E, pretty far south from mainland Japan. Even though it’s well away from Honshu’s bigger cities, people on Iwo Jima and Hahajima definitely felt the tremors.
Strong Mag. 5.7 Earthquake – North Pacific Ocean, 55 km Northeast of Iwo Jima Island, Tokyo, Japan, on Friday, May 15, 2026, at 12:33 am (GMT +9) https://t.co/6XHuVKaWoF
— Ma (@mahanthanut) May 14, 2026
Japan’s seismic intensity scale showed moderate shaking – enough to wake people and set hanging objects swinging. Unlike earthquake magnitude, which measures the energy released, intensity tells you how strong the shaking feels at each spot.
There weren’t any immediate reports of injuries or damage, and no tsunami warning came out after the quake. Chinese news outlets Xinhua and CCTV also said there were no casualties and no tsunami risk.
Just the day before, a magnitude 5.0 earthquake hit Iwate Prefecture in northern Honshu, also about 10 kilometers deep. That one brought intensity 4 shaking to Morioka, and the tremors stretched into Aomori, Miyagi, and even parts of Hokkaido.
Meanwhile, Japan’s been keeping a close eye on Mount Meakan in eastern Hokkaido. The Meteorological Agency counted 127 volcanic earthquakes there within 24 hours on May 13 and said the alert level might go up if activity picks up.
Experts haven’t said a bigger quake or eruption’s about to happen, but this streak of seismic and volcanic activity has disaster monitoring agencies across Japan paying extra attention.
