Magnitude 7.5 Quake Strikes Japan, 23 Injured

Does the quake expose nuclear facility risks on fault lines, or showcase Japan's effective disaster response?

Published 3 days ago·Updated 2 days ago

Magnitude 7.5 Quake Strikes Japan, 23 Injured

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Above: A vehicle on a collapsed road after a 7.5 magnitude earthquake in Tohoku, Japan on Dec. 9, 2025. Image credit: JIJI Press/AFP/Getty Images

The Spin

Pro-government narrative

Japan's Self-Defense Forces demonstrated exemplary disaster response by deploying 23 aircraft sorties within hours and sheltering 620 evacuees at military bases after the Aomori earthquake. The coordinated government effort prioritized lifesaving operations and rapid damage assessment, with no large-scale destruction reported despite the intensity 6-strong shaking.

Shinjirō Koizumi on X

Shinjirō Koizumi on X The Japan News by the Yomiuri Shimbun

Government-critical narrative

Aomori's seismic intensity 6-strong quake exposes the reckless gamble of clustering nuclear facilities along Japan's most volatile fault lines. The Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant, Higashidori reactor and under-construction Ōma plant all faced forces exceeding routine safety simulations, proving atomic energy remains fundamentally incompatible with the country's earthquake-prone archipelago.

X Nippon Hyoron Sha co.,Ltd Nippon.Com