Light magnitude 3.9 earthquake at 51 km depth3 Mar 23:07 UTC: First to report: NIED after 8 minutes.I didn't feel itI felt this quakeEarthquake detailsDate & timeMar 3, 2026 22:59:17 UTC - Local time at epicenterWednesday, Mar 4, 2026, at 08:59 am (GMT +10)Statusconfirmed (manually revised)Magnitude3.9Depth51 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude38.093°N / 144.7°EJapanSeismic antipode38.093°S / 35.3°WShaking intensityIII Weak shaking near epicenterFelt0 reportsPrimary data sourceNIED (National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience)Weather at epicenter at time of quakeOvercast Clouds 8.1°C (47 F), humidity: 88%, wind: 7 m/s (14 kts) from EEstimated seismic energy released4.5 x 1010 joules (12.4 megawatt hours, equivalent to 10.7 tons of TNT) | equivalent to ONE quake of magnitude 3.9 | about seismic energy10 minutes agoMar 3, 2026 22:59 GMT / Mar 4, 2026 08:59 am (GMT +10)Lat / Lng: 38.093 / 144.7: Japan: Far E Off North HonshuSource: NIEDDetail info | You felt it? - Report it!';storedMarkers.push(['quake-22771293',38.09300,144.70000,'10 minutes ago: Mag. 3.9, Japan: Far E Off North Honshu',html,'quakes-5-24.png',18,18,9,9,124]); function mkRep(id,notFelt){var nFelt=notFelt||false;var src="https://www.volcanoesandearthquakes.com/app/earthquake-report.php?quakeId="+id;if(nFelt==true){src+="¬Felt=true";}window.open(src,"","status=0,toolbar=0,location=0,directories=0,menubar=0,resizable=1,scrollbars=1,height=400,width=350");} function locationHashChanged(e){-1!=e.oldURL.indexOf("#popupMap")&&closePopup()} window.onhashchange = locationHashChanged; function comment(e){var t=e.parentNode,a=(t.dataset.id,document.getElementById("commentForm"));"none"==a.style.display?(t.appendChild(a),a.style.display="block"):a.style.display="none"}function sendComment(e){var t=e.parentNode,a=t.parentNode.dataset.id,n=document.getElementById("commentContent"),p=n.value.trim();if(p){var o="id="+a+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId;o+="&comment="+decodeURIComponent(p),mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",o,function(e){e.responseText;alert("Thank you for submitting your comment!"),t.style.display="none",n.value=""})}}function flagReport(e){var t=e.parentNode.dataset.id;if(confirm("Report this as inappropriate?")){var a="id="+t+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId+"&flagAsInappropriate=1";mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",a,function(t){var a=t.responseText;alert(a),e.style.display="none"})}}function likeReport(e){var t="id="+e.parentNode.dataset.id+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId+"&like=1";mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",t,function(t){t.responseText;e.style.opacity=.5})}]]>[smaller] [bigger]Most recent quakes Top 20 past 24 hrs Quakes in JapanNearby placesThe closest larger town near the epicenter is Kamaishi, a town with 43,000 inhabitants in Japan, in 279 km (173 mi) distance to the northwest, but it is unlikely that the quake was felt there. DistancePlaceMax. shaking intensity(*)RegionCountry279 km (173 mi)NW of epicenterKamaishi(pop: 43,100)I: Not feltIwateJapan281 km (175 mi)NW of epicenterOtsuchi(pop: 11,600)I: Not feltKamihei-gun, IwateJapan281 km (175 mi)NW of epicenterOfunato(pop: 35,500)I: Not feltOfunato-shi, IwateJapan283 km (176 mi)NW of epicenterYamada(pop: 15,200)I: Not feltShimohei-gun, IwateJapan284 km (177 mi)W of epicenterRikuzen-Takata(pop: 18,300)I: Not feltIwateJapan286 km (178 mi)W of epicenterKesennuma(pop: 61,100)I: Not feltMiyagiJapan295 km (183 mi)NW of epicenterSetamai(pop: 5,050)I: Not feltKesen-gun, IwateJapan295 km (183 mi)NW of epicenterMiyako(pop: 51,200)I: Not feltIwateJapan307 km (191 mi)NW of epicenterTono(pop: 26,100)I: Not feltTono Shi, IwateJapan318 km (198 mi)NW of epicenterIwaizumi(pop: 8,990)I: Not feltShimohei-gun, IwateJapan323 km (201 mi)NW of epicenterFudai(pop: 2,490)I: Not feltShimohei-gun, IwateJapan335 km (208 mi)NW of epicenterNoda(pop: 4,200)I: Not feltKunohe-gun, IwateJapan344 km (214 mi)NW of epicenterKuji(pop: 34,400)I: Not feltIwateJapan360 km (224 mi)NW of epicenterOno(pop: 15,100)I: Not feltKunohe-gun, IwateJapan374 km (232 mi)NW of epicenterTashiro(pop: 13,500)I: Not feltSannohe Gun, AomoriJapan384 km (239 mi)NW of epicenterHachinohe(pop: 239,000)I: Not feltAomoriJapan519 km (323 mi)SW of epicenterTokyo(pop: 9,733,300): Not feltTokyoJapanNotes:(*) Shaking intensity according to the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) and estimated using seismic models.User-reports for this quakeThere are no user reports for this quake yet.If you felt it, be the first to report it!Get the Android appCompare Quake DataData for the same earthquake as reported by different agenciesThe more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.MagDepthTime GMT2026-03-3EpicenterAgency3.951 km32 mi22:59:17FAR E OFF NORTH HONSHUNIED (National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience)Earthquake statisticsAverage number of earthquakesBased on data from the past 26 years and our earthquake archive back to 1900, there are about 566 quakes on average per year in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi):Mag. 7 or higher: 0.05 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 18.9 years)Mag. 6 or higher: 0.17 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 5.8 years)Mag. 5 or higher: 2.9 quakes per yearMag. 4 or higher: 13.3 quakes per yearMag. 3 or higher: 43 quakes per year (or 3.6 quakes per month)Mag. 2 or higher: 173 quakes per year (or 14.4 quakes per month)Mag. 1 or higher: 533 quakes per year (or 44 quakes per month)The area where this quake occurred has a very high level of seismic activity. It has had at least 3 quakes above magnitude 7 since 1970, which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently, probably on average approximately every 15 to 20 years.Number of quakes per yearPrevious quakes in the same area of this earthquake