Japan’s Shindo Scale: Earthquake Intensity Levels 0–7
Learn what Japan’s Shindo earthquake intensity scale measures, what levels 0, 5 Lower, 5 Upper and 7 mean, and why Shindo is different from magnitude.
Read guide →How to read Japan’s earthquake information
Understand Shindo, magnitude, JMA information and tsunami risk, then learn how to check shaking, family, home or a place you plan to visit in Japan.
Data basics
Shindo, magnitude, depth and the structure of a JMA report.
Magnitude vs Shindo: what is the difference?
Magnitude describes the size of an earthquake at its source; Shindo describes shaking at a place. Learn why they are not interchangeable.
Read guide →How to read JMA earthquake reports
A guide to event and issue times, hypocentre, depth, Shindo, tsunami information, preliminary reports and corrections.
Read guide →What does earthquake depth mean?
A plain-language guide to hypocentre depth and why shallow and deep earthquakes can feel very different.
Read guide →Epicentre and hypocentre: what is the difference?
Two similar terms describe different points: where rupture begins underground and the point directly above it at the surface.
Read guide →Phenomena and geology
Tectonic plates, Nankai, swarms and what follows an earthquake.
Why Does Japan Have So Many Earthquakes? Tectonic Plates Explained
How Japan’s tectonic plates and subduction zones create different kinds of earthquakes beneath and around the archipelago.
Read guide →Nankai Trough Earthquake: What It Is and How to Read JMA Information
What the Nankai Trough is, how to understand long-term probability and what JMA’s special information actually means.
Read guide →Aftershocks: what are they and how long can they continue?
Understand mainshocks, aftershocks and swarms—and why a foreshock can only be recognised after a larger event.
Read guide →Earthquake swarms: what does repeated shaking in one area mean?
How a swarm differs from a mainshock–aftershock sequence and what it cannot tell us about the next earthquake.
Read guide →Why do tall buildings sway far from the epicentre?
What long-period ground motion is and why Shindo at ground level does not describe all movement on a high floor.
Read guide →Are earthquakes becoming more frequent in Japan?
How to compare earthquake counts fairly—and why a few active days do not prove a lasting increase.
Read guide →Warnings and safety
EEW, tsunami and concise guidance on what to do.
Japan’s Earthquake Early Warning: what is 緊急地震速報 (kinkyū jishin sokuhō)?
How 緊急地震速報 (kinkyū jishin sokuhō) works, how much time it may provide and how it differs from a JISHINDESU notification.
Read guide →Can every earthquake cause a tsunami?
What creates a tsunami, why magnitude alone is not enough and when to leave the coast immediately.
Read guide →What should you do during an earthquake in Japan?
Simple actions at home, in a hotel, on the street and near the coast—including when tsunami evacuation comes first.
Read guide →Using JISHINDESU
The map, family, home, travel and identifying shaking you felt.
How to use the JISHINDESU interactive map
A guide to the redesigned map panel: adding and switching places, ten years of history, filters, local Shindo readings, sharing and notifications.
Read guide →Family in Japan? Check whether shaking reached their area
Set a family member’s location, enable notifications for local Shindo and understand the difference between earthquake context and confirmation that a person is safe.
Read guide →Away from home? Monitor earthquakes in your Japanese town
Use home as the reference point and receive notifications without an account when a station within the selected radius reports your chosen Shindo level.
Read guide →Travelling to Japan? Check earthquakes around your stay
Review recent activity around a hotel or city, interpret history responsibly and prepare official information sources before travelling.
Read guide →Felt an earthquake in Japan? Find out what happened
What to do first, how to locate a fresh report and how to compare the epicentre, magnitude and local Shindo observations.
Read guide →Language and terminology
Key Japanese terms used in earthquake information.