False emergency alert issued for massive earthquake in Japan

Japan retracted a catastrophic earthquake alert minutes after issuing it.

Japanese authorities mistakenly issued an emergency warning for a catastrophic magnitude-9.9 earthquake affecting northern, eastern and central regions. The alert was swiftly retracted just minutes later, followed by an official apology. Officials have not detailed the cause behind the erroneous broadcast.

• The reactionAuthorities issued a swift apology after retracting the erroneous earthquake alert.
• The geographyThe initial warning covered northern, eastern and central areas of the country.