The Daily Populous Tuesday December 9th, 2025 night edition
Authored by edition.cnn.com and submitted by nemasu

A powerful magnitude-7.5 earthquake struck off Japan’s northeastern coast on Monday, triggering evacuation orders and a tsunami warning for parts of the coastline.

Some parts of the country experienced tsunami waves, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) reported in an update early Tuesday local time. A 2.3-foot (0.7-meter) tsunami height was observed at Kuji port in Iwate. A 16-inch (40cm) tsunami height was recorded in Aomori and Hokkaido, the JMA said earlier.

After several hours, the JMA downgraded the warning to a tsunami advisory. The agency also adjusted the quake’s magnitude down from an initially reported 7.6.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the earthquake struck at 11:15 p.m. local time (9:15 a.m. ET) around 44 miles (70km) off the coast of the country and at a depth of around 33 miles.

There were several reports from Aomori Prefecture of injuries and fires, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a news conference early Tuesday. He said power outages have been reported in Aomori and Iwate and that high-speed train service was suspended between Fukushima and Aomori. Some sections of expressways were also closed, Kihara said.

Morikubo Tsukasa, a top disaster preparedness official, told reporters that “there is a possibility that a large-scale earthquake with a magnitude of 8 or higher could occur as a follow-up earthquake” off Japan’s northeastern coast, public broadcaster NHK reported. He urged people to take precautions.

A CNN team in Japan’s capital Tokyo felt strong tremors during the earthquake, which lasted for longer than 30 seconds.

Earlier, Kihara urged people in affected areas to evacuate to higher ground or move to safe buildings, such as evacuation shelters.

There have been no reports of “abnormalities at this time” at the country’s Higashidōri and Onagawa nuclear power plants, Kihara said. “We have received reports that other nuclear facilities are currently being checked,” he added.

Japan’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, who was elected in October, said her government would work closely with local officials to assess the damage and put in place emergency response measures.

The government would be “acting as one under the principle of putting human life first,” she said.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks to media about the response to the magnitude 7.5 earthquake that shook Japan's northeast region on December 8, 2025. Kyodo/Reuters

Japan is no stranger to severe earthquakes. It lies on the Ring of Fire, an area of intense seismic and volcanic activity on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. The worst quake in recent Japanese history was the 9.1-magnitude Tohoku earthquake in 2011 that triggered a major tsunami and nuclear disaster.

That quake and tsunami left more than 22,000 people dead or missing and caused reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to melt down, releasing radioactive contamination into the surrounding area.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

CNN’s Brandon Miller, Lauren Kent and Mitchell McCluskey contributed to this report.

kaiser9024 on December 8th, 2025 at 15:47 UTC »

Bad that it happens in the middle of night when many people are supposed to sleep and it's difficult to run because it's dark outside

Hope everyone in Aomori is safe

christhefirstx on December 8th, 2025 at 15:32 UTC »

Live in Aomori and have never experienced anything like it. Felt like someone put our house in a bottle and violently shook it

reddituser112 on December 8th, 2025 at 15:10 UTC »

Live Japanese news in English:

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/live_tv/