M5.1 earthquake near Nemuro, Hokkaido

What happened

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 43 km ESE of Nemuro, Japan on 20 Jan 2016, 21:53 UTC at a depth of 38 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Moderate. Can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Nemuro, about 43 km away in Hokkaido, Japan.