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The 2011 Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami | 60 Minutes Full Episodes

2025-08-09 News & Politics
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Japanese Triple Disaster: Tsunami Aftermath and Nuclear Recovery Efforts

Discover the multi-year struggle Japan faced recovering from the 2011 triple catastrophe, charting the human cost, governmental oversight failures, and the unprecedented robotic missions inside the Fukushima Daiichi core.

Short Summary

  • The 2011 event combined a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, devastating tsunamis, and the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
  • Early US expert warnings regarding the nuclear crisis were initially dismissed by Japanese officials, leading to greater danger for plant workers.
  • Recovery efforts showcased profound community resilience (Otsuchi) juxtaposed against long-term contamination issues (Okuma).
  • Years later, removing the molten fuel cores requires pioneering robotic technology, with clean-up projected to take 40 to 60 years.

This report compiles footage spanning 2011 to 2018, offering a chronological look at immediate survival efforts, the social fallout of displacement, and the decades-long technical challenge of decommissioning the damaged reactors.

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Description

From 2011, Scott Pelley's report on conditions in northern Japan in the aftermath of the that year's earthquake, tsunami, and subsequent nuclear power plant radiation crisis. Also from 2011, Bob Simon's visit to Otsuchi, the Japanese town that was inundated by the tsunami. From 2014, Simon's report on the recovery from three years after the earthquake and tsunami. And from 2018, Lesley Stahl's report on how robots are being used to clean up the nuclear disaster at the Daiichi Power Plant seven years after the earthquake and tsunami. #news #tsunami #worldnews 0:00 Intro 0:11 Catastrophe (2011) 14:21 After the Wave (2011) 26:03 3 Years Later (2014) 40:26 Robots to the Rescue (2018) "60 Minutes" is the most successful television broadcast in history. Offering hard-hitting investigative reports, interviews, feature segments and profiles of people in the news, the broadcast began in 1968 and is still a hit, over 50 seasons later, regularly making Nielsen's Top 10. Subscribe to the "60 Minutes" YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/60minutes Watch full episodes: https://cbsn.ws/1Qkjo1F Get more "60 Minutes" from "60 Minutes: Overtime": https://cbsnews.com/60-minutes/overtime/ Follow "60 Minutes" on Instagram: https://instagram.com/60minutes/ Like "60 Minutes" on Facebook:https://facebook.com/60minutes Follow "60 Minutes" on Twitter: https://twitter.com/60Minutes Subscribe to our newsletter: https://cbsnews.com/newsletters/ Download the CBS News app: https://cbsnews.com/mobile/ Try Paramount+ free: https://paramountplus.com/?ftag=PPM-05-10aeh8h For video licensing inquiries, contact: [email protected]

Top Comments (10)

@kevinstinson4853 2025-08-10

That teacher saved all those babies lives. That man's a hero! You can tell he's haunted by it

209 1 replies
@志瑜杨 2025-08-10

20:50 I couldn’t hold back my tears. I’m glad they were safe. “Do you think there’s anything you could’ve done to save your family” what a question to ask… it really shouldn’t have been said at all.

95 4 replies
@GodRevealed-1 2025-08-10

Heartbreaking to revisit the 2011 disaster and its aftermath. The resilience of the people and the ongoing recovery efforts are truly humbling

80
@60minutes 2025-08-09

0:11 Catastrophe (2011) 14:21 After the Wave (2011) 26:03 3 Years Later (2014) 40:26 Robots to the Rescue (2018)

48 1 replies
@elaineisabelle427 2025-08-15

It's heartbreaking that poor father lost his family and continues to look for his daughter every chance he gets. I hope and pray, he will find her someday soon so he can relax and put his mind at ease. Praying for you sir, your a great father.

47 2 replies
@pjthefriendlyeducator5412 2025-08-15

The earthquake followed by a disastrous tsunami and nuclear fallout left many Japanese displaced. But you can't see a single one of them complain. High respect to all of them.

42 1 replies
@JustakidfrmEastSide 2025-08-10

Having to search those bodies in the gym for your love one is simple heartbreaking 😢… it’s 2 in the morning rn where I’m at and sitting here crying my eyes out 😅😢 prayers to the families

36
@Cedarwudd 2025-08-12

I have been quite obsessed with watching the Japanese & Indonesian tsunami events. The huge amount of footage on both events both shock me & mesmerise me. The only saving grace was that they didn't occur in the middle of the night. Hopefully, nothing so cataclysmic will happen for a very long time, but who knows what mother nature has in store for us

35 1 replies
@laylage8181 2025-08-16

Now this is the type of work robots should be used for. Jobs that humans are unable to do safely, but HUMANS are needed to control the robots.

11
@Badkitty24 2026-01-11

One statement hit me harder than all the others, " Not enough living, to help with the dead".

7

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