Earthquake of Magnitude 6.2 Hits Southern Hokkaido; JMA Rules Advisory Issued Last Week Does Not Apply to Area Affected

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:19 JST, April 27, 2026

An earthquake with a focus in the southern Tokachi district in Hokkaido occurred at about 5:23 a.m. on Monday, reaching the intensity of upper 5 in the Japanese seismic scale of 7 in the Hokkaido town of Urahoro.

With a seismic focus 83 kilometers deep, the intensity was estimated at magnitude 6.2. The Japan Meteorological Agency ruled that the earthquake was not subject to its advisory for subsequent quakes off the coast of Hokkaido and the Sanriku area following an earthquake on April 20.

According to sources including the Hokkaido prefectural government’s summary as of 8 a.m., a 91-year-old woman living in a nursing home in Hakodate fell and sustained a minor injury following the quake, which triggered no tsunami.

According to the agency, the earthquake occurred outside the areas covered by the advisory under which the agency had called for vigilance against a major earthquake.

“It’s neither covered by the advisory nor meets the standard for issuing a new advisory,” an agency official said, citing the estimated magnitude as relatively moderate at 6.2 and that the earthquake occurred inside the Pacific plate, meaning it was not a plate boundary earthquake as referenced in the advisory.

Unless another major earthquake occurs in the area covered by the advisory, the government’s call for the public to make special preparations in line with the advisory is expected to be lifted at 5 p.m. on Monday.

In the meantime, the agency called for those in the areas that experienced strong shocks on Monday to stay alert against earthquakes with an intensity of up to upper 5 for about a week, as the risks of rockfalls and landslides were increased.