"not on for japan?" Are you expecting to have gotten a notification in SF for an earthquake in a place a 12 hour flight away? That sounds like annoyance, not a feature.
We also have the MyShake app here in CA, but I don't recall getting a notification through it for the last quake. I was asleep, though, so my memory is hazy.
you can actually customize how strong a quake you're notified for. but ymmv. the recent california quake was actually the first time that app even notified me.
But it sounds like Japan's system also sends push notifications which is why I was unclear about what you felt was different/missing. I think the specific tone sound we get from EAS is distinct.
We also have the MyShake app here in CA, but I don't recall getting a notification through it for the last quake. I was asleep, though, so my memory is hazy.