Three eruptions were recorded at Sakurajima volcano in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, on May 15, 2025, with ash plumes reaching heights over 4 200 m (13 800 feet) above sea level. Ashfall was reported in Kagoshima City, reducing visibility on city roads.
NTT has developed the world’s first drone-based system capable of triggering and guiding lightning strikes. The technology provides a mobile platform to protect critical infrastructure and may support future research into capturing and storing lightning energy.
A strong earthquake registered by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) as M6.0 struck off the east coast of Osumi Peninsula, Kyushu at around 23:04 JST (14:04 UTC) on April 2, 2025. The USGS is reporting M6.2 at a depth of 26 km (16 miles).
Japan has raised the volcanic alert for Shinmoedake volcano to level 3 early Sunday, March 30, 2025, following the detection of more than 200 volcanic tremors within a 24-hour period.
Record-breaking temperatures were measured in Japan on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, with 143 stations either tying or breaking the record for the hottest March day on record.
As Japan marks the 14th anniversary of the 2011 Tohoku mega-quake—a magnitude 9.0 disaster that killed nearly 16 000 and triggered the Fukushima crisis—a new study from Tohoku, Hokkaido, and JAMSTEC researchers warns that strain building in the Chishima Trench off Hokkaido could unleash another magnitude 9.0 quake in the coming decades.
Evacuation orders were lifted for some parts of Ofunato city on March 7, 2025 as Japan’s largest fire in 50 years weakens following rains on march 5.
A massive forest fire has burned approximately 1 400 ha (3 460 acres) in Akasaki Town, Ofunato City, Iwate Prefecture, since it broke out on February 26, 2025. This is now the largest wildfire in modern Japan history, surpassing the previous record of 1 030 ha (2 545 acres) set in Kushiro, Hokkaido, in 1992.
A large forest fire broke out in the Akasakicho area, in Ofunato City, Iwate Prefecture, on February 26, 2025, marking the third wildfire in the city this month. It left one dead, destroyed at least 84 buildings, and forced the evacuation of more than 2 100 residents.
Sukayu Onsen, located in the mountains of Japan’s Aomori Prefecture, recorded its heaviest snowfall in 12 years on Thursday, February 12, 2025, with snow depths exceeding 5 m (16.4 feet).
