Hong Kong, March 2 – An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0 struck the Volcano Islands region of Japan at 03:55 GMT on Monday, according to the German Research Centre for Geosciences.
The epicenter, located at 23.12 degrees north latitude and 144.30 degrees east longitude, Xinhua news agency reported, with a depth of 10.0 km.
Earlier, a strong and shallow earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1, registered by the USGS, struck the Volcano Islands region of Japan at 16:37 UTC on January 21, 2026. The agency reported a depth of 25.5 km (15.8 miles). EMSC reported the same magnitude and depth.
The epicenter was located 937 km (582 miles) NNW of Saipan (population 48,220), 957 km (595 miles) NNW of San Jose Village, Tinian (population 15,000), and approximately 1,090 km (678 miles) NNW of Guam (population centers Yigo and Dededo).
There was no tsunami threat associated with this earthquake.
The Volcano Islands are part of the Izu–Bonin–Mariana arc, a subduction zone where the Pacific Plate descends beneath the Philippine Sea Plate. This segment is characterized by frequent intermediate-depth seismic events associated with intra-slab faulting within the descending Pacific Plate.
Earthquakes of magnitude 6.0–6.5 occur routinely in this region and rarely cause surface damage or tsunami-generating displacement.
Japan is also located in one of the most tectonically active regions on Earth, a complex four-arc system consisting of deep ocean trenches and volcanic arcs. Nearly 80 per cent of the country's earthquakes originate here, driven by powerful subduction forces.