10 Years Since Kumamoto Earthquake: Emergency Big Earthquake Forecast Contributes to Zero Casualties. App 'Yurezuba' Surpasses 200,000 Registered Users.
Brain Inc. announced that its emergency earthquake forecast service 'Emergency Big Earthquake Forecast' contributed to zero casualties in the offshore Aomori earthquake. The app 'Yurezuba' has surpassed 200,000 registered users.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 15, 2026 at 17:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 15, 2026 at 08:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 19, 2026 at 13:53 (101h 21m after Collected)
Brain Inc. (Shizuoka City), which provides earthquake forecasting services, launched the free service 'Emergency Big Earthquake Forecast' on April 8th last year, aiming to fundamentally reduce human and social damage from earthquakes.
On December 8th of the same year, just before the offshore Aomori earthquake (Mw7.6, Maximum Intensity 6 Upper), this service accurately predicted and forecasted the major earthquake through the app 'Yurezuba'. By issuing advance notifications and disseminating information for the first time since its operation began, it contributed to achieving zero casualties from the M7 class, Intensity 6 Upper earthquake. Following this successful prior forecast, 'Yurezuba' surpassed 200,000 registered users, becoming the largest earthquake forecast app in Japan.
[Background and Purpose of 'Emergency Big Earthquake Forecast' Development]
Two years have passed since the Noto Peninsula earthquake (Maximum Intensity 7), which resulted in approximately 700 deaths, including indirect casualties. Although a prior forecast was issued, many precious lives were lost. A major factor was the absolute deficiency in the number of earthquake forecast disseminations; predictive information did not sufficiently reach affected areas. Furthermore, the Japan Meteorological Agency's (JMA) Early Earthquake Warning (Alert 3rd Report) did not reach the epicenter area with a radius of approximately 440 km in time before the seismic waves arrived (within the 0-second circle in Figure 1 right diagram).
Motivated by the outcome and lessons learned from the Noto Peninsula earthquake, Brain developed and released the new notification service 'Emergency Big Earthquake Forecast'. The objective is to expand the dissemination scale of earthquake forecasts, particularly for M7 class and above, to approximately 10 million people, rapidly and urgently disseminating it to the public to facilitate effective earthquake disaster prevention measures.
Figure 1: Area of JMA's Early Earthquake Warning (Alert) and Time Until Seismic Wave Arrival (Source: JMA Website, January 1, 2024)
[Content and Notification Method of 'Emergency Big Earthquake Forecast']
'Emergency Big Earthquake Forecast' is a free service that provides advance notification via push notification to smartphones and PCs approximately 1 to 2 weeks before a major earthquake is predicted. It commenced service on March 6, 2025, and after functional improvements, began full-scale operation on April 8th.
The media through which 'Emergency Big Earthquake Forecast' is notified are widely prevalent and highly utilized smartphone terminals and PC terminals (Google browser, Yahoo browser).
Figure 2 shows sample forecast images for an M7 class major earthquake and an M8 class giant earthquake.
Figure 2: Emergency Big Earthquake Forecast Images (Sample Images: Left - M7 Class Major Earthquake Forecast, Right - M8 Class Giant Earthquake Forecast)
If an M7 class major earthquake (or M8 class giant earthquake) is forecast, one or two forecast areas (forecast circles) will be designated, and the 'Emergency Big Earthquake Forecast' (1st Report) will be notified to the forecast areas and their surrounding regions. Users who receive the notification can first recognize that their residential area is within a major earthquake forecast zone, enabling swift and accurate preparatory actions and initial responses.
Subsequently, by tapping or clicking the notification image, users are directly led to the download screen for the app 'Yurezuba'. By downloading and installing 'Latest Forecast Viewer', detailed information such as the forecast area and earthquake history can be browsed. The entire operation up to app download is free.
Following this, the 'Emergency Big Earthquake Forecast' (2nd Report) will be notified nationwide. Users who receive this notification can refrain from non-essential business trips, tourism, or returning home to the forecast area, or contact family, relatives, and business partners in the forecast area. Furthermore, companies and organizations can prepare for BCP (Business Continuity Plan) activation, significantly enhancing various preparatory measures and rapid initial response capabilities.
[Background of Aomori Prefecture Offshore Earthquake Prediction and Forecast Content]
From October 30, 2025, significant geomagnetic and geoelectric anomalies appeared at observation points in northern Hokkaido and northern Tohoku regions, predicting the occurrence of a moderate M6 class earthquake in northern Tohoku (offshore). As a result, a total of 33 moderate M5 and M6 class earthquakes, including a maximum Mw6.8, occurred in swarms off the coast of Sanriku and offshore Aomori from November 4th.
Subsequently, on December 3rd, even larger geomagnetic and geoelectric anomalies (Figure 3) appeared. Additionally, the 'b-value' in the Gutenberg-Richter law in this region decreased to around 0.2, indicating that these swarm earthquakes were foreshock activity. Based on this, an M7 class major earthquake was predicted to occur in the area centered around offshore Aomori in northern Tohoku. Consequently, a temporary major earthquake forecast (Figure 4) was disseminated nationwide at 12:22 PM on December 8th.
On December 8th of the same year, just before the offshore Aomori earthquake (Mw7.6, Maximum Intensity 6 Upper), this service accurately predicted and forecasted the major earthquake through the app 'Yurezuba'. By issuing advance notifications and disseminating information for the first time since its operation began, it contributed to achieving zero casualties from the M7 class, Intensity 6 Upper earthquake. Following this successful prior forecast, 'Yurezuba' surpassed 200,000 registered users, becoming the largest earthquake forecast app in Japan.
[Background and Purpose of 'Emergency Big Earthquake Forecast' Development]
Two years have passed since the Noto Peninsula earthquake (Maximum Intensity 7), which resulted in approximately 700 deaths, including indirect casualties. Although a prior forecast was issued, many precious lives were lost. A major factor was the absolute deficiency in the number of earthquake forecast disseminations; predictive information did not sufficiently reach affected areas. Furthermore, the Japan Meteorological Agency's (JMA) Early Earthquake Warning (Alert 3rd Report) did not reach the epicenter area with a radius of approximately 440 km in time before the seismic waves arrived (within the 0-second circle in Figure 1 right diagram).
Motivated by the outcome and lessons learned from the Noto Peninsula earthquake, Brain developed and released the new notification service 'Emergency Big Earthquake Forecast'. The objective is to expand the dissemination scale of earthquake forecasts, particularly for M7 class and above, to approximately 10 million people, rapidly and urgently disseminating it to the public to facilitate effective earthquake disaster prevention measures.
Figure 1: Area of JMA's Early Earthquake Warning (Alert) and Time Until Seismic Wave Arrival (Source: JMA Website, January 1, 2024)
[Content and Notification Method of 'Emergency Big Earthquake Forecast']
'Emergency Big Earthquake Forecast' is a free service that provides advance notification via push notification to smartphones and PCs approximately 1 to 2 weeks before a major earthquake is predicted. It commenced service on March 6, 2025, and after functional improvements, began full-scale operation on April 8th.
The media through which 'Emergency Big Earthquake Forecast' is notified are widely prevalent and highly utilized smartphone terminals and PC terminals (Google browser, Yahoo browser).
Figure 2 shows sample forecast images for an M7 class major earthquake and an M8 class giant earthquake.
Figure 2: Emergency Big Earthquake Forecast Images (Sample Images: Left - M7 Class Major Earthquake Forecast, Right - M8 Class Giant Earthquake Forecast)
If an M7 class major earthquake (or M8 class giant earthquake) is forecast, one or two forecast areas (forecast circles) will be designated, and the 'Emergency Big Earthquake Forecast' (1st Report) will be notified to the forecast areas and their surrounding regions. Users who receive the notification can first recognize that their residential area is within a major earthquake forecast zone, enabling swift and accurate preparatory actions and initial responses.
Subsequently, by tapping or clicking the notification image, users are directly led to the download screen for the app 'Yurezuba'. By downloading and installing 'Latest Forecast Viewer', detailed information such as the forecast area and earthquake history can be browsed. The entire operation up to app download is free.
Following this, the 'Emergency Big Earthquake Forecast' (2nd Report) will be notified nationwide. Users who receive this notification can refrain from non-essential business trips, tourism, or returning home to the forecast area, or contact family, relatives, and business partners in the forecast area. Furthermore, companies and organizations can prepare for BCP (Business Continuity Plan) activation, significantly enhancing various preparatory measures and rapid initial response capabilities.
[Background of Aomori Prefecture Offshore Earthquake Prediction and Forecast Content]
From October 30, 2025, significant geomagnetic and geoelectric anomalies appeared at observation points in northern Hokkaido and northern Tohoku regions, predicting the occurrence of a moderate M6 class earthquake in northern Tohoku (offshore). As a result, a total of 33 moderate M5 and M6 class earthquakes, including a maximum Mw6.8, occurred in swarms off the coast of Sanriku and offshore Aomori from November 4th.
Subsequently, on December 3rd, even larger geomagnetic and geoelectric anomalies (Figure 3) appeared. Additionally, the 'b-value' in the Gutenberg-Richter law in this region decreased to around 0.2, indicating that these swarm earthquakes were foreshock activity. Based on this, an M7 class major earthquake was predicted to occur in the area centered around offshore Aomori in northern Tohoku. Consequently, a temporary major earthquake forecast (Figure 4) was disseminated nationwide at 12:22 PM on December 8th.