TOKYO: Japanese authorities urged the 89 residents of a small southern island to evacuate after a strong earthquake on Thursday, the latest of more than 1,000 recent jolts to hit the area.

Residents were urged to evacuate to “a school playground in Akuseki Island”, a municipal official said. Akuseki is part of the Tokara island chain south of Kyushu region, which has been rattled by 1,031 quakes since June 21. No major damage has been reported. After all residents were confirmed safe, the evacuation instruction was later lifted.

On Thursday, a 5.5 magnitude quake struck near Akuseki. The previous day a jolt of the same size was also recorded. Seven of the 12 remote Tokara Islands are inhabited, with around 700 residents in total.

There was no tsunami risk from Thursday’s quake, according to Ayataka Ebita, director of the earthquake and tsunami observation division of the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2025