The 08 December 2025 Aomori earthquake and tsunami: Event characteristics, building impacts, and social response

A large earthquake occurred off Aomori Prefecture, Japan, at 23:15 (JST) on 08 December 2025. This study investigates the event characteristics, building impacts, and social responses using a multidisciplinary approach that integrates GNSS observations, strong-motion records, tsunami data, government reports, and numerical tsunami simulations. Based on the inversion of the GNSS data, the Aomori earthquake occurred with a maximum fault slip of approximately 2 m and a moment magnitude of M w 7.52. The response spectra of the strong-motion data indicate that buildings experienced moderate, but not major damage even at high earthquake intensity, primarily because of the dominance of short-period waves. The tsunami records demonstrate locally amplified later waveforms at tide gauges along the Pacific coast of East Japan and Hokkaido, which are influenced mainly by waveguiding and edge waves on continental shelves, increasing the tsunami hazard level. According to documents, social disruptions during this event were caused not only by physical damage but also by the occurrence of various hazard types, different warning timings and durations, seasonal conditions, and community risk management practices. These findings and the lessons learned from the 2025 Aomori earthquake serve as a reference for preparedness, particularly for future megaquakes in Japan and other countries.