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An employee of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) holds a geiger counter to measure radiation
Image: Philip Fong/AFP/Getty Images

Fukushima

The Fukushima nuclear power plant suffered a major meltdown on March 11, 2011, when a magnitude 9 earthquake and a subsequent tsunami struck Japan. It's considered the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.

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All Content on this topic

Japan warning over volcano near power plant

Japan has raised the alert level for residents living near the Sakurajima volcano, one of the country's most active.
August 15, 2015
Neustart Atomkraftwerk Japan

Japan ends two-year nuclear shutdown

Japan has reactivated a nuclear reactor for the first time in two years despite lingering fears.
August 11, 2015
Chinesischer Reaktor-Neubau erhält Kuppel

New reactors for China

China's new nuclear power plants have repercussons for Germany, says columnist Frank Sieren.
March 23, 2015
Atomkraftwerk Oi Reaktor 4 in der Präfektur Fukui Japan

'Better prepared' nuclear plants

Nuclear expert Charles Casto talks to DW about the lessons Japan has drawn from the Fukushima disaster.
March 9, 2015
früherer japanischer Premierminister Naoto Kan

'Fukushima radically changed my perspective'

PM Naoto Kan talks to DW about the Fukushima disaster and the influence of the nuclear industry lobby in Japan.
February 25, 2015
Deutschland Fernsehen Ranga Yogeshwar in Fukushima

Tepco recovers Fukushima rods

Tepco has removed spent fuel rods from the stricken Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The cleanup process is expected to last decades.
November 5, 2014
Nuclear power plant Oi Reactor 4 in Fukui, Japan (Foto: Kyodo/REUTERS)

Back to nuclear a priority goal?

The Japanese government has decided not to phase out nuclear power.
April 13, 2014
Mihama nuclear power station, Japan

No full-blown nuclear revival?

Reviving nuclear power after the Fukushima disaster has been a cornerstone of the Japanese government's economic policy. However, many of the power plants appeared unlikely to be given a new lease on life.
April 2, 2014
external

Three years after Fukushima

Three years ago, thousands of people died and almost half a million lost their homes in Japan's worst peacetime disaster. But the catastrophe isn't over as experts still struggle to contain radioactive leaks from the stricken plant. DW spoke to Angelika Claußen of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War.
March 14, 201402:31 min
Mycle Schneider

The future of nuclear

What has the world learnt about nuclear power three years after the Fukushima disaster in March 2011? That's the question we posed to Paris-based nuclear expert Mycle Schneider.
March 13, 201408:36 min
Atomkraftwerk Grohnde

Tougher nuclear precautions

The German government has proposed a dramatic increase in safety measures for areas surrounding nuclear power plants. The proposal coincides with the third anniversary of the Fukushima disaster.
March 10, 2014
Anti-Atomkraft

Bottomless pit

Shutting down Germany's nuclear power plants will cost billions - and who will pay for it?
February 18, 2014
Nuclear power demonstration two years after the Fukushima disaster

No nuclear!

Naoto Kan, former Japanese PM, has one political aim: to see every last atomic energy plant shut.
December 12, 2013
An aerial view shows workers wearing protective suits and masks work at a construction site (C) of the shore barrier to stop radioactive water from leaking into the sea, at the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima, in this photo taken by Kyodo August 9, 2013. (Photo: REUTERS/Kyodo)

Decommission fail

Tokyo Electric Power Co. admits defeat in its effort to decommission the reactors on its own.
August 27, 2013
Workers of the Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) stand in front of the unit four reactor building (R) and unit three reactor building (L) of TEPCO's Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma Town, in Fukushima prefecture on March 1, 2013, . (Photo: JAPAN POOL/AFP/Getty Images)

Problems in Fukushima

The site of the world's second-worst nuclear accident is still bedevilled by problems.
April 10, 2013
A radiation monitor indicates 114.00 microsieverts per hour near the No.4 reactor (background C) and it's foundation construction (background R) for the storage of melted fuel rods at Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO)'s tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima prefecture, March 6, 2013, ahead of the second-year of anniversary of the the March 11, 2011 tsunami and earthquake. Members of the media were allowed into the plant on Wednesday ahead of the second-year anniversary of the tsunami and earthquake, which triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl. REUTERS/Issei Kato (JAPAN - Tags: DISASTER ANNIVERSARY ENERGY)

Japan still coming to terms with Fukushima

On March 11, 2011, Japan is rocked by a massive earthquake from which it will take years to recover.
March 11, 201310 images

Nuclear energy in Japan

Japan's switch to alternative energy is "a very tall order," says the head of DW's Asia department.
March 8, 2013
Japan's new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (C) inspects the Tokyo Electric Power Company's (TEPCO) emergency operation (Photo: ITSUO INOUYE/AFP/Getty Images)

Japan's nuclear village

The new Japanese government's pro-nuclear stance offers no guarantees for the nuclear industry.
January 1, 2013
Anti-nuclear protesters hold a rally in Tokyo (Photo: REUTERS/ Yuriko Nakao)

Change of heart

A year and a half after Fukushima, Japanese people feel differently about nuclear power.
September 11, 2012
A mutated adult pale grass blue (Zizeeria maha) butterfly from Fukushima prefecture, Japan

Genetic mutations

The effects of the nuclear disaster in Fukushima have now become visible in butterflies.
August 16, 2012
Japan - The opening ceremony of a 150-day regular Diet session is held in the presence of Emperor Akihito (center, back) at the main hall of the House of Councillors in Tokyo on Jan. 24, 2012

Revolt in Japanese politics

Fifty lawmakers from the ruling Japanese party leave the ruling camp.
July 2, 2012

Radiation hot spots

Activists measure radioactivity in Japan and make the data available to the public.
March 8, 2012

No excuses

Despite the Fukushima disaster many countries are sticking to nuclear power.
March 7, 2012
People protest nuclear power in Japan

Nuclear stress

TEPCO is about to become nationalized as the IAEA inspects Japan’s nuclear reactors.
January 26, 2012
A protester in a mask holding a sign during an anti-nuclear rally

Fukushima disaster

Japan had to deal with its worst civil nuclear disaster in 2011. It will take 30 years to clean up.
December 30, 2011

Cold shutdown

The Japanese government has claimed to have reached a cold shutdown in Fukushima.
December 16, 2011
A black and yellow nuclear sign, looking very dirty

Chain reaction

Six months after the Fukushima disaster, a survey reveals growing global anti-nuclear sentiment.
September 9, 2011
Nagasaki fell victim to the world's second and last atomic attack on August 9, 1945

Nuclear power

Japan wants to tap into its renewable energy potential in the wake of the Fukushima disaster.
August 9, 2011
Behind bars: "Shut it down!" members protest at Vermont Yankee

Nuclear power in the US

The US continues to favor nuclear energy, with the exception of the state of Vermont.
July 27, 2011
Nuclearp plant philippsburg

No delay

Demonstrators across Germany are calling for nuclear power to be phased out immediately.
May 28, 2011
Klaus Töpfer and Matthias Kleiner

Ethical question

In a live TV debate in Germany, experts discuss the viability of a nuclear-free energy future.
April 28, 2011
Municipal officials and others observe a moment of silence for victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami at Fukushima Prefecture's disaster

Japanese demand an end to nuclear power

Four weeks after the devastating quake thousands in Tokyo are protesting against nuclear energy.
April 11, 2011
nuclear plant in germany

Reactors under review

Nuclear commission chairman says ending nuclear power could cause social inequalities.
April 4, 2011
fire engine spraying water onto reactor

Fukushima radiation

Japan insists the exclusion zone around Fukushima does not need to be extended at present.
March 31, 2011
A Japanese protester holds a placard, which reads: "don't spread radioactive substance"

Nuclear opposition

There had been relatively little opposition to nuclear energy in Japan, but now it is growing.
March 30, 2011
Reactor Number 4 at the Fukushima nuclear plant

Nuclear crisis

France and the US are to help Japan in its battle to contain radiation at the Fukushima plant.
March 30, 2011

Pumps and Robots - German Technology for Fukushima

The nuclear disaster in Fukushima is an international problem, and helping to tackle it is a global challenge. German equipment is being deployed there: cement pumps made by Putzmeister, for example. And KHG, a company run by Germany's nuclear power plant operators that specialises in technical assistance in emergencies, is offering to send robots.
BusinessMarch 30, 201104:19 min
TEPCO headquarters in Tokyo

Destination: Tokyo

Silke Ballweg embarks on a trip to Tokyo while most other people are leaving the city.
March 29, 2011
Smoke is seen rising from reactors 3 and 4 as the Fukushima plant crew are evacuated

Workers evacuated

The Fukushima plant has had to be evacuated as smoke rises from reactors.
March 23, 2011
Nuclear waste barrels

Radioactive risk

Fukushima casts doubts on Swedish plans for an ultimate storage site for nuclear waste.
March 22, 2011
A German nuclear plant

Off the grid

Germany's seven oldest nuclear power plants have been shut down pending safety checks.
March 19, 2011
Power station in Africa

Atomic Africa

While Europe frets over safety issues, Africa is set for a bright new nuclear future.
March 18, 2011
nuclear power plant Biblis AS, from afar, dark clouds overhead

Anti-nuclear boost

The crisis at Japan's nuclear plants comes as the industry hoped for a come-back.
March 14, 2011
View of the abandoned town of Pripyat, near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Ukraine, 19 April 2010.

No Chernobyl

A senior associate for Carnegie's Nuclear Policy Program speaks to DW about the Fukushima crisis.
March 14, 2011
Explosion at the Fukushima nuclear power plant

Disaster in Japan

Japanese authorities fear meltdown after building explodes at Fukushima nuclear plant.
March 12, 2011
Flooding can impact a nuclear reactor's cooling system

Nuclear power

Experts say that keeping the country's nuclear power plants under control is of utmost importance.
March 11, 2011