Earthquake Research Institute was established on November 13th, 1925, as a part of Tokyo Imperial University. The decade and a half since the establishment of ERI was a period that witnessed the rise of modern seismology in Japan.

After World War II, the institute was reestablished as one of the research institutes of the University of Tokyo. Following the nation wide cooperative Earthquake Prediction Program started in 1965 and Volcanic Eruption Prediction Program in 1974, ERI has been playing a core role in bearing the heaviest responsibility for their implementation, as well as serving as the central institute for fundamental geophysical researches in Japan.

In the last few decades, various cooperative studies, such as seismic observations in several inland areas, seismic and geophysical observations in the ocean, application of Global Positioning System (GPS), seismic observations by a network covering the whole of the western Pacific under the Poseidon Plan, and experiments on volcanic structure and magma supply system, have been planned and conducted as joint researches of universities and institutes in Japan. To further promote these projects, ERI was re-organized in 1994 as a shared institute of the universities. The re-organization of ERI formed four divisions and four centers, provided positions for visiting professors, and formulated a system of cooperative studies.

In April 1997, Ocean Hemisphere Research Center was established to develop and operate a global multidisciplinary network in the Pacific hemisphere consisting of seismic, geoelectromagnetic, and geodetic observations.