THE GREAT TOHOKU EARTHQUAKE (FUKUSHIMA), 2011 – ONE OF THE STRONGEST EVER RECORDED The Fukushima Earthquake, officially known as the Great Tohoku Earthquake, struck on March 11, 2011. With a magnitude of 9.1 on the Richter scale, it was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan and among the strongest in the world. The quake was caused by movement along the Japan Trench subduction zone, with the epicenter located 130 km off the Japanese coast and a hypocenter (focus) at a depth of 25 k