Frequency and distance changes in the apparent P-wave radiation pattern (0.75–12 Hz) are investigated using velocity seismograms of shallow strike-slip earthquakes occurring in Chugoku region, southwestern Japan. Data from a dense seismic monitoring network revealed that the four-lobe apparent P-wave radiation pattern was gradually distorted with increasing frequency and propagation distance. Observed features suggest that seismic wave scattering due to small scale velocity heterogeneity in the crust may be a major cause of this distortion. The effects of seismic wave scattering on apparent P-wave radiation pattern were investigated via 3-D finite difference simulation of seismic wave propagation. Our simulations demonstrated that the scattering of seismic waves modified the apparent P-wave radiation pattern from the original four-lobe shape, and that the small-scale velocity heterogeneity, characterized by the von K´arm´an-type power spectral density function with correlation distance of 1 km, root-meansquare value of 0.03 and decay rate parameter of 0.5, might be adequate for modelling crustal heterogeneity in the target region. It was also found that the scattering attenuation of P wave expected from this heterogeneity is significantly smaller than the apparent P-wave attenuation and S-wave scattering attenuation reported by Multiple Lapse Time Window Analysis of previous studies in Japan. These results might imply that scattering attenuation is not the dominant mechanism of P-wave attenuation in the crust of Chugoku region.