A 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit Japan’s southwest coast today, April 2, 2025, waking people up and shaking things around. It happened at 11:03 p.m. local time near Tanegashima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, about 54 kilometers from the city of Nishinoomote. The ground rumbled, but good news—no tsunami is coming, and there’s no big damage so far.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said the quake was a bit weaker at 6.0 and 30 kilometers deep. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) agreed it wasn’t too shallow, at 26 kilometers. That’s deep enough to keep things from getting really bad, but shallow enough to feel strong. “It shook my house and woke me up,” said someone from Nishinoomote. “I was scared!”
The quake hit Kyushu, Japan’s big southern island, the hardest. In Kagoshima, it felt like a “lower 5” on Japan’s shaking scale—strong enough to knock stuff over, but not destroy everything. People across the area felt it—over 500,000 got a good shake, and millions more felt a little wobble. Posts on X said things like, “Earthquake in Japan, M6.2, no tsunami yet.”
Japan’s used to quakes—it’s on the Ring of Fire, where the earth moves a lot. This one didn’t mess up much. The Sendai Nuclear Plant is fine, and trains kept running after a quick look. “We’re okay, just a bit shaken,” said a shop owner in Kagoshima, picking up a few things that fell.
People are still careful, though. Big quakes like this remind everyone of the Nankai Trough, a spot nearby that could cause a huge earthquake someday. Experts say today’s shake isn’t part of that, but they’re always telling folks to be ready. Last August, a 7.1 quake got everyone worried—this one’s smaller, so no special warnings today.
Right now, things are calming down. No one’s hurt, and no big buildings fell, as far as we know. The government’s checking everything to be sure. “We shake, we look around, we keep going,” said someone in Tokyo, far from the action. Japan’s tough—it’s ready for the next one, whenever it comes.