Old clips misrepresented as April 2026 earthquake in Japan
- Published on April 27, 2026 at 10:58
- 4 min read
- By Sammy HEUNG, AFP Hong Kong
Northern Japan was hit by a magnitude 7.7 earthquake on April 20, 2026 with the intense tremor felt hundreds of kilometres (miles) away in Tokyo, but clips circulating on social media purportedly showing the impact of the temblor were filmed two years earlier. The clips have circulated since the New Year’s Day quake that struck the Noto Peninsula on Japan's western coast in 2024.
"How terrifying was today's 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck Japan? Check out this video! If an earthquake of this magnitude happened in China, there would already be mountains of corpses!" says the simplified Chinese caption of an X video shared on April 21, 2026.
The video, which was viewed more than 900,000 times, comprises four clips that supposedly show the impact of the quake.
The first clip shows bricks rippling on a pavement, apparently as a result of a recent tremor. The other three clips in the video show a carpark, a train platform and an office where objects are visibly shaking because of the quake.
The compilation was also shared in similar TikTok, Weibo and Facebook posts, as well as by Taiwanese news website China Times and Chinese-language news website Wenxuecity. The clips were also shared in Arabic, Turkish and Italian posts.
The clips circulated after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake rattled northern Japan on April 20 (archived link).
The tremor was so intense that it shook large buildings in the capital Tokyo, hundreds of kilometres from the epicentre, and an 80-centimetre tsunami wave was observed at a port in Kuji in Iwate prefecture (archived link). At least six people were injured, though there appeared to be no major damage from the earthquake.
But the circulating clips do not show the impact of the April 20 quake.
A combination of keyword searches and reverse image searches on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared clips found they have all circulated since 2024, when Japan -- one of the world's most seismically active countries -- was jolted by a massive 7.5-magnitude earthquake on New Year's Day (archived link).
More than 700 people died after the quake struck the Noto Peninsula in central Japan (archived link).
Rippling bricks
The first falsely shared clip was previously published by the Nippon TV on YouTube on January 31, 2024 (archived link).
Its Japanese-language description says: "The Noto Peninsula earthquake, which registered a maximum seismic intensity of 7, struck on January 1 and has caused devastating damage in many areas. Using footage captured on-site, this video will show you what was happening in different places at that moment."
Further searches found the video appeared to have originally been posted on X and embedded in news articles, though the X post has since been deleted (archived link). AFP reached out to the X user for comment but no response was forthcoming.
Apita mall carpark
The second falsely shared clip of cars shaking in a carpark was previously posted by The Guardian newspaper on YouTube on January 1, 2024, with credit to an X user (archived here and here).
In reply to a comment on their post, the user said it was filmed at the Apita shopping mall in the eastern part of Toyama, next to Ishikawa prefecture where the quake occurred (archived link).
AFP also distributed the same clip on January 1, 2024 and also previously debunked a claim the clip showed the impact of an earthquake in December 2025.
Kanazawa station
The third falsely shared clip showing a swaying sign on a train platform was originally shared on X on January 1, 2024 (archived link).
"Kanazawa Station!!!!!! I'm about to collapse!!!!!! Dangerous!!!!!!" reads the Japanese-language caption. The station is in Ishikawa prefecture.
TV Asahi also published the same clip in its report on January 2, 2024 about the resumption of the Joetsu-Hokuriku Shinkansen train services suspended due to the earthquake (archived link). Kanazawa station is one of the stops in the said route (archived link).
TV Asahi office
The final falsely shared clip was earlier posted on the the official YouTube channel of TV Asahi on January 11, 2024 (archived link).
Its Japanese-language title says, "Monitors toppled, tapes scattered... The tremors hit TV Asahi's Toyama branch office in Toyama City."
Tapes that can be seen at the 0:04 timestamp are also labelled with "tv asahi news" (archived link).
AFP has previously debunked other misinformation about Japan's April 2026 earthquake.
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