On March 11 , 2011 at 2:46 p.m. , Japan suffered from the strongest recorded earthquake in its history , affecting places in the three regions of Tohoku , Chubu and Kanto in the northeast of Honshu , including the Tokyo area . The quake 's magnitude of 9.0 approached that of the severe December 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in South and Southeast Asia , and also the severe January 2010 Haiti earthquake and with the severe February 2011 New Zealand 's Christchurch earthquake . A tsunami with waves of up to 10 meters ( 32.5 feet ) flooded inland areas several kilometers from shore , causing a large number of considerable fires . The epicenter of the quake lay so close to coastal villages and towns that thousands could not flee in time , despite a tsunami warning system . At the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and three other nuclear power plants , serious problems occurred with the cooling systems , ultimately leading to the most serious case of radioactive contamination since the Chernobyl disaster ( see Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster ) , as well as ongoing electric power shortages . Following the earthquake , for the first time , the Emperor addressed the nation in a pre-recorded television broadcast
the strongest recorded earthquake in its history
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
Heisei