Japan lifted its megaquake advisory for the country’s northeastern coast on Tuesday, one week after a magnitude 7.5 earthquake off northern Japan raised concerns about the risk of a larger seismic event, officials said.

With the advisory lifted, residents in the affected areas are no longer being asked to take extraordinary precautions such as sleeping in day clothes with helmets, shoes and emergency grab bags kept at their bedside in preparation for a possible magnitude 8 or stronger earthquake.

At a joint news conference, officials from the Japan Meteorological Agency and the Cabinet Office said the probability of a megaquake has declined somewhat. However, they cautioned that the risk has not disappeared and urged residents to remain vigilant and prepared.

The advisory was issued last Monday after the magnitude 7.5 quake struck off the eastern coast of Aomori Prefecture, near the boundary between Japan’s main island of Honshu and the northern island of Hokkaido. The earthquake caused mild damage across the region.

According to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, more than 40 people suffered mostly minor injuries, and dozens of homes were damaged. Tsunami alerts and advisories were briefly issued, and waves of up to 70 centimeters (27 inches) were recorded in some areas, though no tsunami-related damage was reported.

Officials said local governments and residents responded calmly to the advisory, with no reports of panic.

Japan’s experience with emergency warnings has evolved in recent years. In the summer of 2024, the country issued its first-ever “Nankai Trough” megaquake advisory for the southern Pacific coast, which led to panic buying, event cancellations and business disruptions due to uncertainty surrounding the alert.

The advisory system for the Hokkaido–Sanriku region was introduced in 2022, drawing lessons from the 2011 disaster, when a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami devastated northeastern Japan.