Japan Cancels Major Earthquake Warning After Computer System Error

Japan’s Meteorological Agency cancelled a warning of strong earthquake shaking that it had issued on Friday (16 October), saying it had been sent in error.

Japan Today reported on Saturday (17 October 2026) that the alert was triggered by an incorrect estimate of the earthquake’s magnitude, which had briefly been forecast at a catastrophic 9.9. The error caused temporary disruption to public transport in several parts of the country.

The agency said its computer system had incorrectly identified the earthquake’s epicentre, resulting in an excessively high magnitude estimate.

The warning was issued at 12.40 pm for a wide area, from northern to central Japan. It said the earthquake had occurred in the Chishima Islands, also known as the Kuril Islands, off Hokkaido.

The agency later confirmed that a magnitude 6.9 earthquake had in fact struck near Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula at a depth of 160 kilometres, at around 12.38 pm.

The alert caused alarm among the public. It advised people to prepare for shaking of up to level 7, the highest rating on Japan’s seismic intensity scale.

However, the agency said the strongest shaking recorded was only level 1, in Hakodate in south-western Hokkaido.

Following the warning, 14 tram services in Sapporo, Hokkaido, stopped for several minutes before resuming once the situation was deemed safe, the operator said.

Shinkansen services on the Tokaido line were also temporarily suspended between Shin-Yokohama and Toyohashi stations. JR Central said, however, that the earthquake warning was not the direct cause of the suspension.

The early warning was cancelled eight minutes after it was issued. Many residents received it on their smartphones or learned of it through television and radio broadcasts or municipal loudspeaker systems.

“We have caused considerable concern and placed a burden on people who sought shelter or took steps to ensure their safety, as well as on others affected, including transport systems and businesses,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a press conference.