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Country
Map of Japan
Asia · Tokyo
Japan spans the Amur, Okhotsk and Okinawa plates. It has 107 volcanoes active over the last 10,000 years, 48 of which have erupted since 1900. Since 1900, 263 major earthquakes have been recorded, causing at least 150,565 deaths. Its exposure to natural hazards is 8.3 out of 10 (INFORM index), a very high level. Its overall risk index, which accounts for its ability to cope, is 2.0 out of 10.
- Capital
- Tokyo
- Population
- 123,802,000
- Area
- 377,974 km²
- Continent
- Asia
Tectonic Plates
Natural Hazards
Exposure to natural hazards according to the European Commission's INFORM index, from 0 (very low) to 10 (very high), overall and for each type of hazard.
Overall Risk Index
This overall score combines hazard exposure with the vulnerability of the population (1.5 out of 10) and the lack of coping capacity (0.9 out of 10). A highly exposed but well-prepared country therefore gets a low overall score.
People Exposed Each Year
- 251,283to strong shaking (intensity VI and above)
- 186,923to destructive shaking (intensity VIII and above)
- 33,678to tsunamis
- 11,213,763to hurricane-force winds (category 1 and above)
- 808,730to river floods
- 1,596,275to coastal floods
Overall Risk Index Over Time
Hazard Levels
Hazard level assessed by ThinkHazard! (World Bank, GFDRR), meaning the likelihood of a damaging event, from very low to high.
- River FloodHigh
- Urban FloodHigh
- Coastal FloodHigh
- EarthquakeHigh
- LandslideHigh
- TsunamiHigh
- VolcanoHigh
- CycloneHigh
- Extreme HeatHigh
- WildfireHigh
- Water ScarcityMedium
Volcanoes (107)
Volcanoes active over the last 10,000 years; year of the last known eruption.
- Suwanosejima 2026
- Sakurajima (Aira Caldera) 2026
- Akan 2026
- Kikai 2025
- Kirishimayama 2025
- Ioto 2025
- Nishinoshima 2023
- Kaitoku Seamount 2023
- Funka Asane 2022
- Asosan 2021
- Fukutoku-Oka-no-Ba 2021
- Kuchinoerabujima 2020
- Asamayama 2019
- Kusatsu-Shiranesan 2018
- Hakoneyama 2015
- Ontakesan 2014
- Miyakejima 2010
- Tokachidake 2004
- Izu-Torishima 2002
- Tōya 2001
- Hokkaido-Komagatake 2000
- Moyorodake [Medvezhia] 1999
- Niigata-Yakeyama 1998
- Akita-Yakeyama 1997
- Unzendake 1996
- Kujusan 1996
- Adatarayama 1996
- Yakedake 1995
- Izu Ōshima 1990
- Izu-Tobu 1989
Major Earthquakes Since 1900
Earthquakes that caused deaths or significant damage, or of magnitude 7.5 and above (NOAA).
Deadliest
- 1923Tokyo, Yokohama · M 7.9105,385 deaths
- 2011Honshu · M 9.118,423 deaths
- 1995Sw Honshu: Kobe, Awaji-Shima, Nishinomiya · M 6.96,434 deaths
- 1948Fukui · M 7.35,131 deaths
- 1927Honshu: Sw · M 7.33,022 deaths
- 1933Sanriku · M 8.43,022 deaths
Regions
Regions with volcanoes, major earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones or famous faults.
- Aichi Prefecture
- Akita Prefecture
- Aomori Prefecture
- Chiba Prefecture
- Ehime Prefecture
- Fukui Prefecture
- Fukuoka Prefecture
- Fukushima Prefecture
- Gifu Prefecture
- Gunma Prefecture
- Hokkaidō
- Hyōgo Prefecture
- Ibaraki Prefecture
- Ishikawa Prefecture
- Iwate Prefecture
- Kagoshima Prefecture
- Kanagawa Prefecture
- Kōchi Prefecture
- Kumamoto Prefecture
- Kyōto Prefecture
- Mie Prefecture
- Miyagi Prefecture
- Miyazaki Prefecture
- Nagano Prefecture
- Nagasaki Prefecture
- Nara Prefecture
- Niigata Prefecture
- Ōita Prefecture
- Okayama Prefecture
- Okinawa Prefecture
- Ōsaka Prefecture
- Saga Prefecture
- Saitama Prefecture
- Shiga Prefecture
- Shimane Prefecture
- Shizuoka Prefecture
- Tochigi Prefecture
- Tokushima Prefecture
- Tokyo
- Tottori Prefecture
- Toyama Prefecture
- Wakayama Prefecture
- Yamagata Prefecture
- Yamaguchi Prefecture
- Yamanashi Prefecture
Tsunamis
116 major tsunamis have reached Japan since 1900, killing 20,226 people in the country. The deadliest and highest are listed below.
- 2011Tsunami (Japan) · 39.3 m15,950 deaths
- 1933Tsunami (Japan) · 29.0 m3,022 deaths
- 1923Tsunami (Japan) · 13.0 m344 deaths
- 1946Tsunami (Japan) · 6.6 m288 deaths
- 1960Tsunami (Chile) · 8.1 m283 deaths
- 1993Tsunami (Japan) · 32.0 m181 deaths
- 1905Tsunami (Japan)57 deaths
- 1983Tsunami (Japan) · 14.9 m47 deaths
Tropical Cyclones
171 major tropical cyclones have made landfall in Japan since 1950. The deadliest and most powerful are listed below.
- 1972Typhoon Helen · 120 km/h87 deaths
- 2018Typhoon Soulik · 0 km/h86 deaths
- 1975Typhoon Phyllis · 102 km/h77 deaths
- 1958Typhoon Alice · 102 km/h26 deaths
- 2007Typhoon Man-yi · 152 km/h16 deaths
- 1983Typhoon Abby · 107 km/h7 deaths
- 1990Typhoon Zola · 83 km/h6 deaths
- 2019Typhoon Faxai · 154 km/h3 deaths
- 2018Typhoon Prapiroon · 0 km/h3 deaths
- 1959Typhoon Vera · 232 km/h
Sources : Natural Earth · Wikidata · INFORM Risk Index (1 September 2026 v 0.7.3), Commission européenne, CC BY 4.0 · NOAA NCEI · ThinkHazard!, GFDRR, CC BY · Bird (2003), PB2002 · Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution