Median Tectonic Line
Japan · continental transform · 4851.3 km of mapped active fault in 76 traces
background as of 7 November 2026.
consistent with baseline
| Window | the last 30.0 days |
|---|---|
| Earthquakes counted | 2 at M4.5 or above |
| Expected in that window | 0.37 |
| Rate against normal | 5.41x |
| Largest | M5.7 |
| Gap to the second largest | 0.2 magnitude units |
What this system normally does
From 1995 to 2025 the catalogue holds 135 earthquakes of M4.5 or larger attributable to this system: about 4.50 a year. That figure is what "elevated" on this page is measured against.
The fault itself
| Mapped length | 4851.3 km |
|---|---|
| Traces | 76 |
| Tectonic setting | continental transform |
| Slip types | Dextral |
| Depth attributed to it | down to 50.0 km |
| Extent | 32.45 to 35.67 latitude, 130.60 to 138.00 longitude |
Recorded history
NOAA's hazard records hold 36 significant earthquakes and 20 tsunamis attributed to this system since 701.
The deadliest was the 18 January 1586 magnitude 8.2 earthquake (Japan: Ise Bay), which killed 8,000 people.
The strongest earthquake on record here was magnitude 8.4, on 28 October 1707 (Japan: Nankaido).
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, 36,620 people died.
| Date | What | Where | Toll |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 January 1586 | magnitude 8.2 earthquake | Japan: Ise Bay | 8,000 dead, 10,000 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 18 January 1586 | tsunami | Ise Bay | 8,000 dead, 10,000 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 27 October 1891 | magnitude 8.4 earthquake | Japan: Mino-owari | 7,273 dead, 142,177 homes destroyed, damage over $25 million |
| 16 January 1995 | magnitude 6.9 earthquake | Japan: Sw Honshu: Kobe, Awaji-shima, Nishinomiya | 6,434 dead, 186,175 homes destroyed, $100,000 million damage |
| 16 January 1995 | tsunami (waves to 0.3 m) | Kobe, Japan | 6,434 dead, 186,175 homes destroyed, $100,000 million damage |
| 28 October 1707 | tsunami (waves to 25.7 m) | Nankaido | 5,000 dead, 77,000 homes destroyed, damage over $25 million |
| 28 October 1707 | magnitude 8.4 earthquake | Japan: Nankaido | 5,000 dead, 77,000 homes destroyed, damage over $25 million |
| 7 March 1927 | magnitude 7.3 earthquake | Japan: Honshu: Sw | 3,022 dead, 15,594 homes destroyed, $40 million damage |
| 7 March 1927 | tsunami (waves to 11.3 m) | Sw. Honshu Island | 3,022 dead, 15,594 homes destroyed, damage over $25 million |
| 30 June 744 | magnitude 6.4 earthquake | Japan: Shimabara, Yatsushiro, Higo | 1,520 dead, 470 homes destroyed, damage $1 to 5 million |
| 30 June 744 | tsunami | Sw. Kyushu Island | 1,520 dead, 470 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 10 September 1943 | magnitude 7.4 earthquake | Japan: Honshu: S | 1,400 dead, 7,739 homes destroyed, damage over $25 million |
| 16 June 1026 | magnitude 7.5 earthquake | Japan: off Masuda, Shimane Prefecture | 1,001 dead, 3,000 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 16 June 1026 | tsunami (waves to 10 m) | off Masuda, Shimane Prefecture | 1,001 dead, 3,000 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 20 December 1711 | magnitude 6.7 earthquake | Seionaikai, Japan | 1,000 dead, 1,713 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 20 December 1711 | tsunami (waves to 2 m) | Seionaikai, Japan | 1,000 dead, 1,713 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 14 March 1872 | magnitude 7.4 earthquake | Japan: Honshu: Sw | 804 dead, 5,796 homes destroyed, damage over $25 million |
| 14 March 1872 | tsunami (waves to 3 m) | Sw. Honshu Island | 804 dead, 5,796 homes destroyed, damage under $1 million |
| 4 September 1596 | magnitude 6.9 earthquake | Japan: Beppu Bay | 708 dead, 80 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 4 September 1596 | tsunami (waves to 8 m) | Beppu Bay, Kyushu | 708 dead, 80 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 15 April 2016 | magnitude 7.0 earthquake | Japan: Kumamoto, Oita | 273 dead, 43,386 homes destroyed, $20,000 million damage |
| 14 August 1909 | magnitude 6.9 earthquake | Japan: Oomi | 41 dead, 976 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 14 August 1909 | tsunami (waves to 1.8 m) | Anegawa, Japan | 41 dead, 976 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 10 September 1597 | magnitude 6.4 earthquake | Japan: Beppu Bay | 40 dead |
| 10 September 1597 | tsunami | Beppu Bay, Japan | 40 dead |
These are the 25 deadliest and largest of 56 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.
Who to listen to if you live here
Japan Meteorological Agency is the agency that tells people on this system what to do. https://www.jma.go.jp/jma/en/Activities/earthquake.html (in English)
Other systems in Japan
Where these numbers come from
Fault geometry, length and segment counts: GEM Global Active Faults Database (GEM GAF-DB), GEM Foundation, https://github.com/GEMScienceTools/gem-global-active-faults Licence: CC-BY-SA-4.0. Figures derived from it here are offered under the same licence. Earthquake counts, magnitudes and depths: United States Geological Survey, public domain. The activity judgement is ours, computed from those two inputs, and is not a statement by either agency.