An earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale struck the Volcano Islands, Japan region at 0355 GMT on Monday, as reported by the German Research Centre for Geosciences. The quake’s epicenter was initially pinpointed at 23.12 degrees north latitude and 144.30 degrees east longitude, with a depth of 10.0 km.
A previous strong and shallow earthquake, recorded as M6.1 by the USGS, had hit the same region at 16:37 UTC on January 21, 2026. Both the USGS and EMSC reported a depth of 25.5 km (15.8 miles) for this event. The epicenter of this earthquake was situated 937 km (582 miles) NNW of Saipan, 957 km (595 miles) NNW of San Jose Village, Tinian, and approximately 1,090 km (678 miles) NNW of Guam.
Despite the seismic activity, there was no tsunami threat resulting from this earthquake. The Volcano Islands are part of the Izu–Bonin–Mariana arc, a subduction zone where the Pacific Plate subducts beneath the Philippine Sea Plate. Earthquakes within the magnitude range of M6.0–M6.5 are common in this area but typically do not cause significant surface damage or trigger tsunamis.
Japan, situated in a highly active tectonic region, experiences a large number of earthquakes due to its location in a complex four-arc system comprising deep ocean trenches and volcanic arcs. The majority of seismic events in Japan are a result of intense subduction forces in this region.
