Urban legend / Japan
A Major Solar Flare Before the Noto Earthquake: The Video’s Ionosphere Theory
This article summarizes what the featured video claims. It does not present those claims as established fact. Read the Japanese version.
A coincidence between a solar flare and an earthquake
One day before the magnitude 7.5 earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula on January 1, 2024—killing more than 700 people and damaging over 200,000 buildings—the strongest solar flare of 2023 had reached Earth.
An anomaly in the ionosphere
The video says that, 40 minutes before the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, electron density rose abnormally in the ionosphere directly above the epicenter and that the change was also detected by a GPS network. It adds that the same phenomenon occurred before the Sumatra and Chile earthquakes.
To explain a possible mechanism, the video cites what it describes as a paper announced by a Kyoto University research team in February 2026. It says that when a solar flare arrives, electrons in the ionosphere are pushed downward and electrostatic voltage is applied to water-bearing fracture zones underground. That force is said to exceed the pull of the moon. In the video’s account, electricity from the sun gives a final push to a fault already near its limit—in other words, it does not create the earthquake’s energy but changes when the fault moves.
Prediction and causation are separate questions
The video notes that the U.S. Geological Survey rejects this connection and regards it as coincidence. As a counterpoint, it says data show that more than 90% of magnitude 7 or greater earthquakes occur within ten days before or after periods of strong solar activity. It closes by saying the sun is now in an active phase of its 11-year cycle and that flares will increase further.
Viewer reactions
“Our elders used to tell those of us born in the late Showa 40s: be careful if the birds disappear, and be careful if dogs and cats bark unusually. They also said that if an earthquake happens, run to a bamboo grove—or otherwise beneath a large tree—because the roots prevent the ground from splitting. Thank you to those who came before us.”
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“I think the universe itself is one enormous living thing. Thank you for letting us microorganisms live here.”
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“Earth is a planet strongly affected by the sun. Saying earthquakes alone are unrelated seems harder to believe.”
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“I’m glad there have been so many Shorts lately.”
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“Naokiman…how is he so good at explaining things? Thank you! Even I can understand it.”
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Following the theory
A major flare erupts on the sun, an anomaly appears in the ionosphere, and an earthquake follows. By placing those three events on the same timeline, the video constructs a path by which an unseen influence could reach into Earth. Using figures and the names of studies as clues, it follows this coincidence in timing.
Watch the video
Naokiman Show
Key moments
- ▶ 0:00
The video opens by saying that the strongest solar flare of 2023 reached Earth one day before the January 1, 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake (M7.5, more than 700 deaths, and over 200,000 damaged buildings).
- ▶ 0:17
It says electron density in the ionosphere above the epicenter rose abnormally 40 minutes before the Great East Japan Earthquake and was detected by a GPS network, adding that the same occurred off Sumatra and in Chile.
- ▶ 0:34
The video refers to what it says was a February 2026 paper from a Kyoto University team proposing that a solar flare pushes ionospheric electrons downward and applies electrostatic voltage to underground fracture zones. It gives neither the journal nor the authors’ names.
- ▶ 0:49
It explains the core hypothesis: a solar flare does not create an earthquake’s energy, but may alter the moment when a fault already near its limit moves.
- ▶ 1:05
While noting that the U.S. Geological Survey rejects the proposed link as coincidence, the video counters with a claim that more than 90% of M7-plus earthquakes occur within ten days of heightened solar activity. It does not identify the source of that figure.
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