> They did get unlucky with a 7.4 magnitude quake. Magnitude 9.1, actually.

irchans · on Dec 22, 2022

Thank you! Huge difference! Lack of research on my part. Sorry

midoridensha · on Dec 23, 2022

Actually, it was a Mw 9.0 according to JMA.

delroth · on Dec 23, 2022

Looks like JMA says 9.0, USGS says 9.1. I don't really have enough expertise to know which number is more accurate, and I suspect it doesn't make a huge difference. It's in any case the highest magnitude earthquake ever recorded in Japan.

midoridensha · on Dec 23, 2022

Japan gets earthquakes every day, and is much more seismically active than the US, so I would favor their expertise more. But yeah, it was the highest ever recorded. According to Wikipedia, it actually moved Honshu (the main island of Japan) by over 2 meters to the east!

moloch-hai · on Dec 23, 2022

This makes no sense.

Earthquakes in different places can be compared only on a common scale.