Japan has over 100 active volcanoes, more than almost any other country and accounts alone for about 10 % of all active volcanoes in the world. The volcanoes belong to the Pacific Ring of Fire, caused by subduction zones of the Pacific plate beneath continental and other oceanic plates along its margins.
Japan's volcanic arcs and tectonic setting
Japan is located at the junction of 4 tectonic plates - the Pacific, Philippine, Eurasian and North American plates, and its volcanoes are mainly located on 5 subduction-zone related volcanic arcs where the Pacific Plate descends under the North American Plate along the Kuril Trench and the Japan Trench and underneath the Philippine Sea Plate along the Izu-Bonin Trench. The Philippine Plate itself subducts beneath the Eurasian Plate at the western end, forming the Ryukyu Trench. The principal resulting volcanic ars are:
- Ryukyu Arc and Southwest Honshu Arcs in the south (Philippine plate subducting beneath between the Eurasian Plate),
- Izu-Bonin-Mariana Arc (subduction of Pacific plate beneath Philippine plate)
- Northeast Honshu and Kurile Arc in the north (subduction of Pacific plate beneath the N-American plate)
(more info: www.glgarcs.net/intro/subduction.html)
Besides intense volcanic activity, Japan is one of the places in the world most affected by frequent, and sometimes devastatingly large earthquakes. Its oceanic setting makes it vulnerable for tsunamis as well, as the tragedy of the 11 March 2011 8.9 earthquake and tsunami terrifyingly illustrated.
Record in historically documented eruptions
Japan's first documented historical eruption was from Aso volcano in 553 AD , the year after Buddhism was introduced from Korea. It holds a record in the number of historically documented eruptions.
Japan's largest historical eruption (Towada, 915 AD), 17 Japanese volcanoes had been documented in eruption, more than the rest of the world combined (including 10 in Europe).
Date | Volcan | VEI | Région | Morts | Dommages | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sakurajima Minamidake summit crater | 2 | Kyushu, Japan | inconnu | |||
Suwanose-jima O-take | 2 | Ryukyu Islands (Japan) | inconnu | |||
Kikai | ? | Japon | inconnu | |||
Iwo-jima | 1 | Volcano Islands (Japan) | inconnu | |||
Nishino-shima Central cone of 2013 island | 2 | Volcano Islands, Japan | inconnu | |||
Kaitoku | 0 | Volcano Islands (Japan) | inconnu | |||
Iwo-jima Off SE coast | 1 | Volcano Islands (Japan) | inconnu | |||
Kita-Ioto Funka-Asane | 1 | Volcano Islands (Japan) | inconnu | |||
Iwo-jima Off SE coast | 1 | Volcano Islands (Japan) | inconnu | |||
Aso | 2 | central Kyushu, Japan | inconnu | |||
Fukutoku-Okanoba | 4 | Volcano Islands (Japan) | inconnu | |||
Nishino-shima Central cone of 2013 island | 2 | Volcano Islands, Japan | inconnu | |||
Iwo-jima Asodai Sinkhole | 1 | Volcano Islands (Japan) | inconnu | |||
Kikai | 1 | Japon | inconnu | |||
Kuchinoerabu-jima | 1 | Ryukyu Islands (Japan) | inconnu | |||
Nishino-shima Central cone of 2013 island | 1 | Volcano Islands, Japan | inconnu | |||
Aso | 2 | central Kyushu, Japan | inconnu | |||
Kuchinoerabu-jima | 3 | Ryukyu Islands (Japan) | inconnu | |||
Kikai | 1 | Japon | inconnu | |||
Kikai | 2 | Japon | inconnu | |||
Asama | 2 | Honshu (Japan) | inconnu | |||
Kuchinoerabu-jima Shindake Crater | 3 | Ryukyu Islands (Japan) | inconnu | |||
Nishino-shima Central cone of 2013 island | 1 | Volcano Islands, Japan | inconnu | |||
Kirishima Shinmoedake | 3 | Kyushu (Japan) | inconnu | |||
Kusatsu-Shirane Motoshiranesan | 1 | Honshu (Japan) | inconnu | |||
Kusatsu-Shirane | 1 | Honshu (Japan) | 1 | léger | Infos | |
Kirishima Shinmoedake | 2 | Kyushu (Japan) | inconnu | |||
Nishino-shima Central cone of 2013 island | 2 | Volcano Islands, Japan | inconnu | |||
Aso Nakadake Crater | 3 | central Kyushu, Japan | inconnu | |||
2016 Oct 8 (éruption | Aso | 0 | central Kyushu, Japan | léger | Infos | |
Iwo-jima Asodai Sinkhole | 1 | Volcano Islands (Japan) | inconnu | |||
Sakurajima Minami-dake and east flank (Showa crater) | 3 | Kyushu, Japan | inconnu | |||
Aso Naka-dake | 2 | central Kyushu, Japan | inconnu | |||
Nishino-shima Vent SSE of existing Nishinoshima | 2 | Volcano Islands, Japan | inconnu | |||
Iwo-jima Kianohana Beach (N part of the island) | 1 | Volcano Islands (Japan) | inconnu | |||
Hakone Owakudani hot springs, 1 km N of Kamiyama dome | 1 | Honshu (Japan) | inconnu | |||
Asama Summit crater | 1 | Honshu (Japan) | inconnu | |||
Kuchinoerabu-jima Shindake crater | 3 | Ryukyu Islands (Japan) | inconnu | |||
Ontake-san Summit crater | 3 | Honshu (Japan) | inconnu | |||
2014 Sep 27 (éruption | Ontake-san | 3 | Honshu (Japan) | 55 | inconnu | Infos |
Kuchinoerabu-jima Shindake | 1 | Ryukyu Islands (Japan) | inconnu | |||
Aso Naka-dake | 1 | central Kyushu, Japan | inconnu | |||
Kikai Iodake | 1 | Japon | inconnu | |||
Iwo-jima Asodai | 1 | Volcano Islands (Japan) | inconnu | |||
Iwo-jima Asodai | 1 | Volcano Islands (Japan) | inconnu | |||
Kirishima Shinmoe-dake | 3 | Kyushu (Japan) | inconnu | |||
Aso Naka-dake | 1 | central Kyushu, Japan | inconnu | |||
2011 Jan 28 (éruption | Kirishima | 0 | Kyushu (Japan) | léger | Infos | |
Miyake-shima Summit crater | 1 | Izu Islands (Japan) | inconnu | |||
Kirishima Shinmoe-dake | 1 | Kyushu (Japan) | inconnu | |||
Fukutoku-Okanoba Submarine site | 1 | Volcano Islands (Japan) | inconnu |
The last volcanic eruption au Japon was from Kikai volcano in 2024.
The first historically documented eruption occurred autour 654 AD from Oshima volcano.
Since 654 AD, Japon has seen at least 953 historically documented eruptions. This means that a volcano erupts on average every 1.4 years.
Japon is volcanically extremely active: Since 1900, at least 47 volcanoes au Japon have been active. Every year, at least one volcano has been in eruption au Japon. The last volcano to erupt au Japon was Kikai volcano, which erupted in 2024, 8 months ago.
The largest eruption au Japon in historic times was from Shikotsu volcano. It occurred in 1739. It ranks as a plinian eruption with a magnitude 5 on the VEI (Volcanic Explosivity Index) scale. Eruption of this size are often catastrophic on a regional scale.
Date et l'heure | Mag / Prof. | Volcan le plus proche / Lieux | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
14 juin 19:47 (GMT +9) | 5.0 55 km | 107 km E de | Océan Pacifique Nord, 59 km à l'est de Ishinomaki, Japon I FELT IT - 4 reports | Info | |
14 juin 13:21 (GMT +9) | 4.6 10 km | 123 km E de | Izu Islands, Japan Region I FELT IT | Info | |
vendredi, 13 juin 2025 GMT (1 séisme) | |||||
13 juin 15:18 (GMT +9) | 4.5 66 km | 114 km NE de | 6.5 km à l'est de Chiba, préfecture de Chiba, Japon I FELT IT - 38 reports | Info | |
jeudi, 12 juin 2025 GMT (1 séisme) | |||||
12 juin 12:49 (GMT +9) | 4.9 10 km | 124 km SO de | Mer des Philippines, 124 km au sud-ouest de Kozu Shima , Japon I FELT IT - 1 report | Info | |
mercredi, 11 juin 2025 GMT (2 séismes) | |||||
12 juin 05:59 (GMT +9) | 4.7 162 km | 25 km E de | Bonin Islands, Japan Region I FELT IT | Info | |
11 juin 18:30 (GMT +9) | 4.6 38 km | 127 km S de | Océan Pacifique Nord, 75 km au sud de Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japon I FELT IT | Info |
Date | Mag | Région | Morts | Dommages | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2024 Jan 1 | 7.5 | Honshu Ishikawa![]() | 463 | catastrophique | Info |
2016 Apr 15 | 7.0 | Kumamoto, Oita![]() | 273 | catastrophique | Info |
2011 Mar 11 | 9.1 | Honshu![]() | 18,428 | catastrophique | Info |
1995 Jan 16 | 6.9 | Sw Honshu Kobe, Awaji-shima, Nishinomiya![]() | 6,434 | catastrophique | Info |
1993 Jul 12 | 7.7 | Hokkaido; Russia Southeast; South Korea![]() | 231 | catastrophique | Info |
1983 May 26 | 7.7 | Honshu Akita![]() | 104 | très lourd | Info |
1982 Mar 21 | 6.7 | Hokkaido, Urakawa, Hiroo![]() | 110 | léger | Info |
1958 Mar 11 | 7.5 | Ryukyu Islands![]() | 50-100 (*) | inconnu | Info |
1948 Jun 28 | 7.3 | Fukui![]() | 5,131 | catastrophique | Info |
1946 Dec 20 | 8.3 | Honshu S Coast![]() | 1,362 | très lourd | Info |
1945 Jan 12 | 7.1 | Honshu S![]() | 2,306 | très lourd | Info |
1944 Dec 7 | 8.1 | Off Southeast Coast Kii Peninsula![]() | 1,223 | lourd | Info |
1943 Sep 10 | 7.4 | Honshu S![]() | 1,400 | très lourd | Info |
1933 Mar 2 | 8.4 | Sanriku![]() | 3,022 | très lourd | Info |
1930 Nov 25 | 7.1 | Honshu Idu![]() | 259 | très lourd | Info |
1927 Mar 7 | 7.3 | Honshu Sw![]() | 3,022 | lourd | Info |
1925 May 23 | 6.8 | Honshu Tajima![]() | 395 | très lourd | Info |
1923 Sep 1 | 7.9 | Tokyo, Yokohama![]() | 142,807 | très lourd | Info |
1914 Mar 15 | 7.2 | Senhoku![]() | 94 | lourd | Info |
Le tremblement de terre le plus meurtrier au Japon depuis 1900 était le séisme de magnitude 7.9 au Japon, préfecture de Kanagawa le septembre, 1, 1923. Cela a fait 142,807 de décès et 47,000 blessés. La plupart des dégâts causés par le séisme sont dus au tsunami qui a suivi le séisme. Le tsunami a atteint des hauteurs allant jusqu'à 13 m. C'était le 11. séisme le plus meurtrier de l'histoire de l'humanité et le séisme le plus désastreux jamais enregistré au Japon.
Le tremblement de terre qui a causé le plus de dégâts a été le séisme de magnitude 9.1 au Japon le mars, 11, 2011. Cela a causé 18,428 de décès et estimées $220 milliards de dollars américains (l'équivalent d'aujourd'hui) en dommages économiques totaux.
Depuis 1900, au moins 79 tremblements de terre ont causé un total estimé de 190,000 décès au Japon.
Il y a eu 141 séismes causant morts ou dommages significatifs au cours de cette période. Ensemble, ils ont causé des pertes économiques d'env. $432 milliards de dollars américains.