Did the US cause an earthquake and tsunami that led to the devastation of Japan's northeast coast and the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in order to replace the Japanese government with a more US-friendly one? No, that's not true: The 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami was a natural phenomenon that occurred in the Japan Trench, a region with a high rate of seismic activity. According to the US Geological Survey and Japan's Meteorological Agency, the 2011 event was caused by "thrust faulting on the subduction zone plate boundary between the Pacific and North American plates." It was the largest magnitude quake recorded in Japan and the third largest in the world since 1900.
The claim appeared on TikTok (archived here) on September 21, 2023, by Omiso Channel, a site known to promote various conspiracy theories. During comments translated into English from Japanese by Lead Stories staff, the presenter says:
At the time of the March 11 earthquake, the government was under the DPJ (Democratic Party of Japan). The first Prime Minister of the DPJ administration, Naoto Kan, was known for being the only Prime Minister to go against the US. The result...? Japan's darkest moment.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Sat Sep 23 03:33:21 2023 UTC)
The post includes blurred footage of Benjamin Fulford, a figure in Japanese media known to promote conspiracy theories regarding the Illuminati, Freemasonry, and the existence of a "Deep State", who is shown addressing a panel meeting to discuss the Tohoku Earthquake and who claims without evidence that police were protecting a member of Japan's Self-Defense Forces who smuggled nuclear bombs used to explode the Fukushima nuclear plant. No evidence exists of the use of nuclear weapons in Japan in 2011.
The earthquake and tsunami that took place on March 11 are largely regarded as a natural phenomenon by experts from the US Geological Survey, the Government of Miyagi Prefecture, and the Japan Meteorological Agency. Deadly events have occurred in this area of Japan known for a high rate of seismic and tsunami activity, including one in 1611, 1896, and 1933.
Operators of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, Chubu Electrical Power and TEPCO both concluded that the tsunami caused the flooding that led to a power failure and loss of reactor core cooling systems at the plant leading to a partial meltdown of some of the nuclear reactors.
