On Friday 11 March 2011 , the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami , the most powerful known earthquake to hit Japan at the time , and one of the five most powerful recorded earthquakes of which Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said , " In the 65 years after the end of World War II , this is the toughest and the most difficult crisis for Japan . " hit Honshu . The earthquake and the resulting tsunami not only devastated wide coastal areas in Miyagi Prefecture but also caused the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster triggering a widespread permanent evacuation surrounding the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant . German chancellor Angela Merkel immediately expressed her deepest sympathy to all those affected and promised Japan any assistance it would call for . As a consequence rescue specialists from the Technisches Hilfswerk as well as a scout team of I.S.A.R. Germany ( International Search and Rescue ) were sent to Japan , however parts of the German personnel had to be recalled due to radiation danger near the damaged power plant . Furthermore , the German Aerospace Center provided TerraSAR-X - and RapidEye-satellite imagery of the affected area . In the days after the disaster , numerous flowers , candles and paper cranes were placed in front of the Japanese embassy in Berlin by compassionates , including leading German politicians . Though never materialised , additional proposals for aid included sending special units of the German Bundeswehr to Japan , as the German Armed Forces ' decontamination equipment is among the most sophisticated in the world
Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
Germany–Japan relations