There are no volcanoes and a few active faults in the northern area, which incorporates Saga and Fukuoka Prefectures and the central part of Nagasaki Prefecture to the north. The Nishiyama fault zones and the other primary active faults run from northwest - southeast to north - south , and are either strike-slip faults or reverse faults with activity of B or C class. No destructive earthquakes are known to have been associated with these active faults. The only large destructive earthquakes in the northern area described by historical accounts are the 1700 Earthquake at Iki and Tsushima (M 7) and the 1898 Itoshima Earthquake (M 6.0).

There are many volcanoes and active faults in the central area, including Mt. Aso and Mt. Unzen. The Minoo fault zone runs roughly east to west along the northern edge of the central area, while the Futagawa/Hinagu fault zone is at the southern edge. The active faults in the central area are normal faults that run in a roughly east-west direction and sometimes have right lateral strike-slip components. Numerous active faults have been discovered by seismic profiling in Beppu Bay, the Yatsushiro Sea, Chijiwa Bay, and near Koshikijima Island (Kosikijima). The crustal movement extends throughout the land area of Kyushu. Pronounced extension has been observed running in a roughly north-south direction, particularly in the central area (Fig.9-7). It is presumed from the distribution of the active faults, the crustal movement, and other factors that a force is acting to cause extension in the earth's surface in a north-south direction, primarily in the central area.

Most of the destructive earthquakes in shallow locations on land in the Kyushu region occur in the central area. More than 15 destructive M6-level earthquakes are known to have occurred in the nearly 400 years since 1600. No active faults are known, however, for which slip has clearly been identified as a factor in these earthquakes. There are records of earthquakes estimated at M 7 or so occurring before 1600, including the earthquake occurring in the Tsukushi province (Tsukushi-no-kuni) in the year of 679 (M 6.5-7.5) and the 1596 earthquake at Beppu Bay (M 7.0). Recent research on active faults has shown that the 679 earthquake is likely to have occurred on the Minoo fault. Also, sea floor research indicates that the 1596 earthquake occurred on an active fault in Beppu Bay.

The southern area incorporates more than half of the land area of Kyushu, including the Kyushu Mountains (Kyusyu Santi), the Miyazaki Plain (Miyazaki Heiya), the Osumi Peninsula (Osumi Hanto) and Satsuma Peninsula (Satuma Hanto). There are volcanoes in the southern area, including Sakurajima Island and Mt. Kirishima, but few active faults. The primary active fault is the Izumi fault zone in the vicinity of Izumi, near the Yatsushiro Sea. The primary destructive earthquakes here include the 1914 earthquake accompanying the eruption of Valcano Sakurajima (M 7.1), the 1968 Ebino Earthquake (M 6.1), and the earthquakes in northwestern Kagoshima Prefecture in March and May 1997 (M 6.3, M 6.2).

The earthquakes that occur in shallow areas around the Nansei Shoto Islands, which have a small land area, are thought to be of the type similar to those that occur at shallow locations on land, even when the hypocenter is in the sea. Destructive earthquakes of this type include the 1909 earthquake near the coast of the southern part of Okinawa Island (M 6.2) and the 1898 Earthquake off the East Coast of Ishigakijima Island (M 7). Also, earthquake swarms in the M 4 to 5 range frequently occur in the sea near the Tokara Islands (Tokara Retto).

The Okinawa Trough runs parallel to the Nansei Shoto Islands at the sea floor on the northwest side of the islands in the East China Sea. Research on the sea floor shows there are many normal faults here. The Beppu-Shimabara rift valley , which also has many normal faults, is located as an extension of the Okinawa Trough in roughly a northeast direction. The 1938 earthquake north off Miyakojima Island (Miyako Jima) (M 6.7), which occurred in the Okinawa Trough, was accompanied by a tsunami of about 1.5 m high that struck the island about 10 minutes after the earthquake occurred.

The interval of activity for most active faults is 1,000 years or longer. This does not indicate that no earthquake can occur here even if there is no record of past events.