Japan assesses damage from 7.5 magnitude quake that injured 33
[December 09, 2025]
By MARI YAMAGUCHI
TOKYO (AP) — Japan was assessing damage Tuesday and cautioning people of
potential aftershocks after a late-night 7.5 magnitude earthquake caused
injuries, light damage and a tsunami in Pacific coastal communities.
At least 33 people were injured, one seriously, the Fire and Disaster
Management Agency said. Most of them were hit by falling objects, public
broadcaster NHK reported.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters an emergency task force was
formed to urgently assess damage. “We are putting people’s lives first
and doing everything we can,” she said.
At a parliamentary session Tuesday, Takaichi pledged the government
would continue its utmost effort and reminded people they have to
protect their own lives.
The 7.5 magnitude quake struck around 11:15 p.m. in the Pacific Ocean,
around 80 kilometers (50 miles) off the coast of Aomori, the
northernmost prefecture of Japan’s main Honshu island. The U.S.
Geological Survey measured the quake at 7.6 magnitude and said it
occurred 44 kilometers (27 miles) below the surface.
A tsunami of up to 70 centimeters (2 feet, 4 inches) was measured in
Kuji port in Iwate prefecture, just south of Aomori, and waves up to 50
centimeters struck other communities in the region, the Japan
Meteorological Agency said. NHK reported the waves damaged some oyster
rafts.
The agency lifted all tsunami advisories by 6:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said about 800 homes were without
electricity and Shinkansen bullet trains and some local lines were
suspended in parts of the region in the early hours of Tuesday. East
Japan Railway said it is aiming to resume bullet trains in the region
later Tuesday.
Power was mostly restored by Tuesday morning, according to the Tohoku
Electric Power Co.
About 480 residents sheltered at Hachinohe Air Base and 18 defense
helicopters were mobilized for a damage assessment, Defense Minister
Shinjiro Koizumi said.
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Papers are scattered on the floor at an office in Hakodate,
Hokkaido, northern Japan Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, following a powerful
earthquake on late Monday. (Kyodo News via AP)
About 200 passengers were stranded for the night at New Chitose
Airport in Hokkaido, NHK reported. Part of a domestic terminal
building was unusable Tuesday after parts of its ceiling cracked and
fell to the floor, according to the airport operator.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority said about 450 liters (118 gallons)
of water spilled from a spent fuel cooling area at the Rokkasho fuel
reprocessing plant in Aomori, but that its water level remained
within the normal range and there was no safety concern. No
abnormalities were found at other nuclear power plants and spent
fuel storage facilities, the NRA said.
JMA cautioned about possible aftershocks in the coming days. It said
there is a slight increase in risk of a magnitude 8-level quake and
possible tsunami occurring along Japan's northeastern coast from
Chiba, just east of Tokyo, to Hokkaido. The agency urged residents
in 182 municipalities in the area to monitor their emergency
preparedness in the coming week, reminding them that the caution is
not a prediction of a big one.
Monday's quake occurred just north of the coastal region where the
magnitude 9.0 quake and tsunami in 2011 killed nearly 20,000 people
and destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
“You need to prepare, assuming that a disaster like that could
happen again," JMA official Satoshi Harada said.
Smaller aftershocks were continuing Tuesday. The U.S. Geological
Survey reported a magnitude 6.6 and later a 5.1 quake in the hours
after the initial temblor.
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