On 21 June 2025, an intensive earthquake swarm started near the lightly populated Tokara Islands, located in the East China Sea and administered by Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The most intense shaking registered a 6- on the JMA Shindo scale on 3 July, and the most powerful earthquake was a on 2 July. This earthquake swarm is the most intense such since 1995. 31 residents requested evacuation to the mainland following several earthquakes of Shindo 5+, or approximately VII on the Mercalli scale. Only cracks in roads and a schoolyard, as well as landslides and rockfalls, were reported in the islands, with no documented injuries. A strange roaring from the sea before the earthquakes has also been noted, and the quakes have been strong and constant enough to substantially interrupt sleep.
List of earthquakes +List of earthquakes with a seismic intensity of Shindo 5− and higherTime (JST)EpicenterMagnitude(USGS)Intensity(Shindo)DepthNotes30 June 18:33 () ()2 July 4:32 () ()2 July 15:26 () ()3 July 16:13 () ()5 July 6:29 () ()6 July 14:01 () ()6 July 14:07 () ()7 July 00:12 () ()
Response The earthquake swarm has prompted evacuations from the islands of Akusekijima and Kodakarajima.
Manga connection The earthquake swarm was connected by the Japanese public to the manga The Future I Saw, which told of a large tsunami on 5 July in the Philippine Sea. The Japan Meteorological Agency denied the predictive validity of pseudo-science: "1-Minute Explainer: Can you trust social media claims about the 'Tokara Rule' or predictions of a major disaster on the 5th? (Mainichi Shimbun)".
References
Notes
External links JMA portal site JMA chronological interactive map Earthquake Early Warning (EEW)