Magnitude 7.1 earthquake strikes southwestern Japan, tsunami advisory issued for Kyushu coasts

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck the island of Kyushu in southwestern Japan at 16:27 local time on Tuesday, 28 July 2026 (6 Mordad 1405), equivalent to 10:57 Tehran time. The epicentre was reported in Kumamoto prefecture, and the shaking registered the highest level, 7, on Japan's Shindo intensity scale.

The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami advisory after the quake. Waves of up to one metre were forecast for the Ariake and Yatsushiro seas, with arrival expected around 17:00 local time. The Japanese government issued emergency earthquake warnings for the prefectures of Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Fukuoka, Saga, Oita and Miyazaki. The Honolulu based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the event posed no tsunami threat to Hawaii or American Samoa.

The earthquake came on a day when Japanese equities had already fallen sharply earlier in the same trading session, led by declines in chip and artificial intelligence related shares.