The following is a chronology of major earthquakes in Japan since May 1983. As well as a magnitude reading, Japan operates a seismic intensity scale that ranges from 1 to 7. Levels 5 and 6 have had "lower" and "upper" categories since 1996.
* May 26, 1983 -- Magnitude 7.7 and level 5 on Japanese scale, jolted Akita and surrounding areas, killing 104 people.
* Sept. 14, 1984 -- Magnitude 6.8 and level 6, struck Otaki, Nagano Prefecture, killing 29 people.
* Jan. 15, 1993 -- Magnitude 7.8 and level 6, jolted Kushiro, Hokkaido, killing two people.
* July 12, 1993 -- Magnitude 7.8 and level 5, hit Hokkaido, killing 230 people.
* Dec. 28, 1994 -- Magnitude 7.6 and level 6, shook Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, killing three.
* Jan. 17, 1995 -- Great Hanshin Earthquake, magnitude 7.3 and level 7, devastated Kobe and other parts of Hyogo Prefecture, killing 6,433.
* July 1, 2000 -- Magnitude 6.4 and a lower 6 on the Japanese scale, jolted the Izu Islands, south of Tokyo, killing one person.
* Oct. 6, 2000 -- Magnitude 7.3 and upper 6, struck Tottori Prefecture, injuring more than 50 people.
* March 24, 2001 -- Magnitude 6.7 and lower 6, hit Hiroshima Prefecture, killing two people.
* May 26, 2003 -- Magnitude 7 and lower 6, jolted parts of Iwate and Miyagi prefectures, injuring more than 140 people.