Japan has been experiencing hundreds of earthquakes in the last few days, with about 40 tremors recorded on Monday (Jul 7) as of 4 pm IST, according to the data from the Japan Meteorological Agency. The remote islands in the southern part of Japan have been hardest hit, forcing the evacuation of residents, the local mayor Genichiro Kubo said on Monday (Jul 7).

Following nearly 1,600 quakes in recent weeks, dozens of residents were evacuated. Although there has been no major damage on the hardest-hit Akuseki island, despite a 5.1 magnitude earthquake overnight, the almost non-stop jolts since June 21 have stressed the people in the area.

Out of the 89 residents of Akuseki, 44 have evacuated to the regional hub of Kagoshima by Sunday (Jul 6), while 15 others also left another island nearby, Kubo said during a press conference.

What are experts saying?

According to seismologists, the region has experienced a swarm of 1,582 quakes since June 21. Experts believe the cause behind these constant quakes may be an underwater volcano and flows of magma. However, they cannot predict how long the tremors will last.

“We cannot foresee what might happen in the future. We cannot see when this will end,” Mayor Kubo told reporters.

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According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, a similar period of intense seismic activity was recorded in the region in September 2023, when 346 tremors were recorded.

Japan is one of the world’s most seismically active countries. The island nation lies on top of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific “Ring of Fire”. With a population of about 125 million people, Japan experiences about 1,500 earthquakes every year and accounts for about 18 per cent of the earthquakes in the world.

Recently, a manga comic reissued in 2021, which predicted a major disaster on July 5, 2025, has created a frenzy over social media. This also resulted in holding off some foreign tourists from coming to the country. However, the prediction failed as no such disaster occurred in the country on the specified date.