A “megaquake” could occur along Japan’s main island north coast in the coming week, authorities said in a rare warning after a 7.5-magnitude tremor shook the same region on Monday.

Officials at the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said that the Monday quake, which struck at 11:15 p.m. off the Pacific coast of Aomori prefecture at a depth of 54 km, increases the chance of a quake of a similar or higher magnitude in the same region within the coming week.

It’s the first time the agency has issued a megaquake (8.0 magnitude or higher) warning for the coastal regions of Hokkaido and Sanriku since the system was introduced in December 2022, according to local paper Asahi .

Tsukasa Morikubo, a Cabinet official for disaster management, said in a press conference Tuesday that a megaquake

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