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.
A JISHINDESU editorial guide based on the cited official and primary materials. It does not replace official safety information.
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1. What is Shindo?
Shindo is the seismic intensity scale used by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). It describes the shaking recorded at a particular observation point. It is not one number for the whole earthquake—one event can produce many Shindo readings in different places.
JISHINDESU displays reported station readings rather than estimating Shindo at a user’s address. “Maximum Shindo” is the highest station observation included in the report for that particular event. It is not Japan’s historical record or a value observed at every location.
2. What does each Shindo level mean?
The scale has ten categories: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Lower, 5 Upper, 6 Lower, 6 Upper and 7. “Lower” and “Upper” are official parts of the category names, not mathematical signs. The effects below are typical observations, not a prediction for every person or building.
Scroll horizontally to view the complete table.
| Shindo | Instrumental intensity | Typical interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Below 0.5 | People do not feel the shaking, but instruments may record it. |
| 1 | 0.5 to below 1.5 | Some people who are quiet indoors may notice a slight tremor. |
| 2 | 1.5 to below 2.5 | Many people who are quiet indoors feel shaking; hanging objects may move slightly. |
| 3 | 2.5 to below 3.5 | Most people indoors feel it, and some sleepers wake up. |
| 4 | 3.5 to below 4.5 | Most people are startled; hanging objects swing considerably and unstable items may fall. |
| 5 Lower | 4.5 to below 5.0 | Many people feel frightened or want to hold on to something; unsecured furniture may move. |
| 5 Upper | 5.0 to below 5.5 | Walking without support becomes difficult; dishes and books may fall, and unreinforced block walls may collapse. |
| 6 Lower | 5.5 to below 6.0 | Standing becomes difficult; much unsecured furniture moves and some doors may jam. |
| 6 Upper | 6.0 to below 6.5 | Standing is impossible and people cannot move without crawling; most unsecured furniture moves and many items topple. |
| 7 | 6.5 or higher | Movement is severely restricted and even more secured furniture may move or topple; serious building damage becomes more likely. |
3. How is Shindo calculated?
Modern JMA intensity meters calculate Shindo automatically from three components of acceleration: two horizontal and one vertical. The signal is filtered to reflect how people and structures respond to different frequencies, and the three components are combined.
The calculation finds an acceleration threshold that is exceeded for a total of exactly 0.3 seconds. It uses that threshold to calculate a numerical instrumental seismic intensity, which is then assigned to one of the official Shindo categories. This means both the strength and the frequency and duration of shaking influence the result.
Since April 1996, JMA has observed and reported Shindo automatically with digital intensity meters. This replaced the earlier assessments based on observers’ perceptions and surrounding conditions; the current ten-category scale followed in October 1996.
4. Shindo is not magnitude or peak acceleration
Magnitude describes the overall size of an earthquake at its source. Shindo describes shaking at one observation point, so a single earthquake has one reported magnitude but many local Shindo values. There is no universal conversion between them.
Peak ground acceleration alone does not determine Shindo either. Two records with the same peak acceleration can receive different intensity values because their frequency content and duration differ. See the Magnitude vs Shindo guide for a practical comparison.
5. Why can nearby places and buildings feel different?
A station reading depends on distance from the hypocentre, depth, the direction of wave propagation, local geology and topography. Soft sediment can amplify particular frequencies, so the nearest place does not always record the highest Shindo.
A station measures motion at its specific installation site, under the local conditions surrounding that intensity meter. It is one measurement at known coordinates, not a value for an entire city. A person’s experience can differ further with the building’s height, construction and floor.
6. High-rise buildings and long-period motion
Shindo does not fully describe the slow, prolonged swaying that can affect upper floors of high-rise buildings during a distant large earthquake. JMA therefore also publishes a separate four-class Long-Period Ground Motion scale.
That scale describes expected effects in high-rises, but it still cannot predict the exact movement of every building. Building height, natural period and structural design all matter.
7. How to read Shindo on JISHINDESU
Open an earthquake from the map or list. The detail card shows the event’s maximum reported Shindo, while available station observations appear automatically on the map and in the observation list. Compare the nearest real stations instead of treating the maximum as your local value.
Use “Readings nearby” to find earthquakes recorded around your selected point, and notifications to follow confirmed local observations above your chosen threshold. Missing station data does not automatically mean Shindo 0.
Use official JMA and local-authority instructions for safety decisions. JISHINDESU is an analysis and presentation service, not an emergency warning system.
8. Frequently asked questions about Shindo
Shindo is a local measurement, so always read it together with the place name and event time. These answers explain the JMA scale; they do not predict damage to a particular building.
- Is Shindo 5 strong? Japan divides it into 5 Lower and 5 Upper. At 5 Lower, many people seek support; at 5 Upper, walking without support is difficult and unsecured objects often fall.
- Can magnitude be converted into Shindo? No. Depth, distance and local ground conditions mean the same magnitude can produce very different local intensities.
- Does a missing reading mean Shindo 0? No. The station may be absent from the bulletin or the data may still be processing.
- Is there a Shindo 8? No. Shindo 7 is the highest category: every instrumental intensity of 6.5 or higher is classified as Shindo 7, with no defined upper bound.