A tsunami warning issued for Japan on Wednesday following a massive earthquake near Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula has reignited deep national anxieties—reviving painful memories of the 2011 Fukushima disaster that claimed thousands of lives and reshaped Japan’s approach to natural disasters.
The magnitude 8.8 undersea earthquake, which struck just off Russia’s Far East coast, sent powerful tsunami waves rolling across the Pacific. Japan’s Meteorological Agency quickly issued a tsunami warning for much of the country’s eastern shoreline, forecasting waves of up to three meters in some regions, particularly Hokkaido and the Tōhoku coast—areas still haunted by the devastation of 2011.
Emergency sirens blared across coastal towns, prompting hurried evacuations. Residents in Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima prefectures—many of whom had lived through the deadly March 11, 2011 quake and tsunami—were once again seen scrambling for higher ground.
“We still remember the black wall of water,” said Kenji Okada, a Sendai resident who lost his home in 2011. “Hearing those sirens again made my heart stop. It felt like that day all over again.”
Local schools suspended classes, bullet train services were temporarily halted, and nuclear plants in affected zones were placed on heightened alert. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, now decommissioned but still undergoing cleanup, was reportedly not at risk, though officials stressed the situation was being closely monitored.
As of Wednesday evening, Japan had not reported major damage or casualties from the tsunami waves, which measured under two meters in most locations. But the psychological toll has been considerable.
“For many survivors of 2011, this kind of warning triggers post-traumatic stress,” said Dr. Yuki Tanaka, a trauma psychologist at Tōhoku University Hospital. “Even if the danger passes, the fear stays with them.”
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addressed the nation in a televised statement, urging citizens to stay calm but vigilant.
“We understand the fear this warning brings, especially for those who lived through the tragedy of 2011,” he said. “Japan has since strengthened its disaster preparedness systems. Please follow evacuation guidance and rely only on official sources for information.”
Japan’s early warning and evacuation systems, upgraded significantly in the wake of the Fukushima catastrophe, appeared to function smoothly—sending alerts to mobile phones, radios, and public loudspeakers within minutes of the offshore quake.
The March 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami killed nearly 20,000 people, displaced over 400,000, and led to the meltdown of three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant—the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. In its aftermath, Japan shut down nearly all of its nuclear reactors and launched a sweeping review of its disaster response protocols.
For communities near the coast, that day remains a dividing line in history: life before and life after.
“We rebuilt our homes, our towns,” said Yoshiko Sato, a teacher in Rikuzentakata, one of the hardest-hit towns in 2011. “But the sea never feels safe again.”