A moderately shallow magnitude 5.1 earthquake was reported in the evening near Choshi, Chōshi Shi, Chiba, Japan.According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), the quake struck on Thursday, October 1st, 2026, at 9:27 pm local time, at a moderately shallow depth of 41 km. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake may be revised over the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review the data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their reports.Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake was probably felt by many people in the area of the epicenter. It should not have caused significant damage, apart from objects falling from shelves, broken windows, etc.Weak shaking might have been felt in Hasaki (pop. 39,200), located 5 km from the epicenter; Choshi (pop. 58,400), 5 km away; Asahi (pop. 64,700), 13 km away; Sosa (pop. 35,700), 21 km away; Kamisu (pop. 95,500), 24 km away; Katori-shi (pop. 74,500), 34 km away; Narita (pop. 132,900), 44 km away; Chiba (pop. 979,800), 62 km away; Tokyo (pop. 9,733,300), 99 km away; and Yokohama (pop. 3,777,500), 107 km away.VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update the magnitude and depth if they change and follow up if other significant news about the quake becomes available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more firsthand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.Earthquake data: Date & time: Oct 1, 2026 12:27 pm (Universal Time) local time (1 Oct 2026 12:27 GMT)Magnitude: 5.0Hypocenter depth: 46.00 kmEpicenter coordinates: 35.62°N / 140.6°E (Choshi Shi, Chiba, Japan)Primary data source: EMSC