As of the end of 2025, the cumulative number of deaths indirectly linked to the March 11, 2011, Great East Japan Earthquake had reached 3,810, with little sign that such losses will cease anytime soon.
The disaster, which devastated wide areas of the Tohoku region, and the subsequent nuclear meltdown at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings¡¯ Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, forced many residents into long-term evacuation, subjecting them to severe psychological and physical strain.
Bureaucratic issues, including how disaster-related deaths are officially certified, have also come to light. Fifteen years have passed since the disaster, but the Japanese government¡¯s declared goal of reducing indirect deaths to zero still appears far from being achieved.
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