Japan

JPN · 2024 energy mix · renewables 12.6% · fossil fuels 83.0%

Threat reading 21 of 100, classified STABLE. 43 events recorded here in the last seven days, 43 in the last thirty.

That number is computed from live feeds and moves. The live monitor is where to read it as of right now.

Where its energy comes from

Oil37.4%
Coal26.4%
Gas19.1%
Solar5.0%
Nuclear4.3%
Hydro4.1%
Other renewables3.0%
Wind0.6%

In 2024, renewables accounted for 12.6% and fossil fuels for 83.0%. On electricity traded with its neighbours, Japan is close to balanced on electricity trade.

Sources under one per cent of the mix are left out of the table rather than listed as a row of zeroes. Percentages are shares of a country's primary energy, not of the power it generates.

Recorded history

NOAA's hazard records hold 427 significant earthquakes, 299 tsunamis and 147 significant eruptions in or just off Japan since 684.

The deadliest was the 1 September 1923 magnitude 7.9 earthquake (Japan: Tokyo, Yokohama), which killed 105,385 people.

The strongest earthquake on record here was magnitude 9.1, on 11 March 2011 (Japan: Honshu).

The most recent entry is the 28 July 2026 magnitude 6.8 earthquake (Japan: Kumamoto), which killed 38 people.

Across the entries that record a death toll, 350,110 people died.

DateWhatWhereToll
1 September 1923magnitude 7.9 earthquakeJapan: Tokyo, Yokohama105,385 dead, 695,000 homes destroyed, $600 million damage
1 September 1923tsunami (waves to 13 m)Sagami Bay105,385 dead, 695,000 homes destroyed, $600 million damage
15 June 1896tsunami (waves to 38.2 m)Sanriku27,122 dead, 11,000 homes destroyed, damage over $25 million
15 June 1896magnitude 8.3 earthquakeJapan: Sanriku27,122 dead, 11,000 homes destroyed, damage over $25 million
27 May 1293magnitude 7.1 earthquakeJapan: Kamakura23,024 dead, damage $5 to 25 million
11 March 2011tsunami (waves to 39.3 m)Honshu Island18,423 dead, 123,661 homes destroyed, $220,137 million damage
11 March 2011magnitude 9.1 earthquakeJapan: Honshu18,423 dead, 123,661 homes destroyed, $220,137 million damage
21 May 1792magnitude 6.4 earthquakeJapan: Kyusyu Island15,030 dead, 6,200 homes destroyed, damage over $25 million
21 May 1792tsunami (waves to 55 m)Shimabara Bay, Kyushu Island15,000 dead, 6,200 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million
21 May 1792VEI 2 eruptionUnzendake, Kyushu-Japan15,000 dead, 6,200 homes destroyed, damage over $25 million
24 April 1771tsunami (waves to 85.4 m)Ryukyu Islands13,486 dead, 3,237 homes destroyed, damage over $25 million
24 April 1771magnitude 7.4 earthquakeJapan: Ryukyu Islands13,486 dead, 3,237 homes destroyed, damage over $25 million
8 May 1847magnitude 7.4 earthquakeJapan: Zenkoji, Nagano12,000 dead, 34,000 homes destroyed, damage over $25 million
18 January 1586magnitude 8.2 earthquakeJapan: Ise Bay8,000 dead, 10,000 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million
18 January 1586tsunamiIse Bay8,000 dead, 10,000 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million
27 October 1891magnitude 8.4 earthquakeJapan: Mino-owari7,273 dead, 142,177 homes destroyed, damage over $25 million
11 November 1855magnitude 7.0 earthquakeJapan: Tokyo6,757 dead, 50,000 homes destroyed, damage over $25 million
11 November 1855tsunamiTokaido6,757 dead, 50,000 homes destroyed, damage over $25 million
16 January 1995magnitude 6.9 earthquakeJapan: Sw Honshu: Kobe, Awaji-shima, Nishinomiya6,434 dead, 186,175 homes destroyed, $100,000 million damage
16 January 1995tsunami (waves to 0.3 m)Kobe, Japan6,434 dead, 186,175 homes destroyed, $100,000 million damage
30 December 1703magnitude 8.2 earthquakeJapan: off Sw Boso Peninsula5,233 dead, 20,162 homes destroyed, damage over $25 million
30 December 1703tsunami (waves to 11.7 m)off Sw Boso Peninsula5,233 dead, 20,162 homes destroyed, damage over $25 million
28 June 1948magnitude 7.3 earthquakeJapan: Fukui5,131 dead, 63,000 homes destroyed, $1,000 million damage
28 October 1707tsunami (waves to 25.7 m)Nankaido5,000 dead, 77,000 homes destroyed, damage over $25 million
2 December 1611tsunami (waves to 25 m)Sanriku5,000 dead, damage $5 to 25 million

These are the 25 deadliest and largest of 873 entries. A dash means NOAA recorded no number, not that nobody died. Older entries are fewer because fewer were written down, not because less happened.

Recorded history: NOAA NCEI hazard databases, public domain, retrieved 2026-10-22.

In the last 30 days

The most recent events our feeds placed in Japan:

What the threat reading is made of

Conflict0
Unrest0
Security0
Spillover from neighbours28
Natural hazard35
Resilience91

Each is 0 to 100. Resilience runs the other way to the rest: a high number is a country better able to absorb a shock, not a country in more trouble.

Large caldera systems here

Other countries tracked

All countries with a page.

Where the data comes from

Energy mix, 2024: Our World in Data, energy dataset (https://github.com/owid/energy-data), compiled by Pablo Rosado, Hannah Ritchie, Edouard Mathieu and Max Roser from the Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Ember and The Shift Dataportal. Licence: Our World in Data's own compilation is CC BY 4.0. The underlying figures stay under their original terms: Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy, U.S. EIA, Ember and The Shift Dataportal. The percentages shown here and the wording are ours. Threat reading: computed by Rift Web from the feeds listed on the sources page.