Footage of 2011 Japan tsunami being shared as recent

A video from 2011 is being shared on social media with claims suggesting it shows scenes following a recent earthquake in Japan. 

The clip shows buildings, boats and vehicles being carried away by water. Overlaid text says: “Tsunami Alert after strong 6.9 magnitude Earthquake hits Japan”. One post has the year “2025” overlaid on the video, while another shared on 14 January has the caption “6.9 earthquake hit Japan today”. 

A tsunami warning was in place for parts of southwest Japan after an earthquake struck on 13 January 2025, but this has since been lifted. Japan’s Meteorological Agency first reported the earthquake’s magnitude was 6.9 but reportedly revised it down to 6.6. A tsunami estimated to be one metre high reportedly reached land 30 minutes after the quake. 

However, this is not what the video on social media shows. 

The clip appears in a longer YouTube video shared in 2021 by the Japanese outlet TBS News Dig, with the caption describing a tsunami caused by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck the coast of Tohoku, Japan on 11 March 2011. The clip circulating on social media has been horizontally flipped and sped up. Slightly different footage of the same scene was shared on YouTube in August 2012 with the caption: “Tsunami surging to Miyako harbor”. 

The resulting 2011 tsunami in northeastern Japan killed nearly 20,000 people, with a further 2,600 people recorded missing and never found. It also caused nuclear meltdowns at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. 

This is not the first time we’ve seen footage from this tsunami being shared as another incident—we’ve previously written about viral posts claiming it shows the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. 

It’s important to consider whether something shows what it claims to before sharing it online—our guide on spotting misleading videos offers tips on how to do this.