Whales stranded in Japan because of the tsunami?

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DW Fact check: Unknown A reverse image search confirms the footage is from a TBS News report. Agency photos from The Yomiuri Shimbun/AP, via picture alliance verify that whales were indeed stranded. However, according to Chiba prefectural police, the whales had been beached the day before the tsunami and the events are believed to be unrelated. A report by The Asahi Shimbunquotes expert Tajima Yuko from the National Museum of Nature and Science, who notes that if unusual underground sounds occurred before the quake, their effects on whales remain unknown. The article also quotes Mika Kuroda from the NPO Stranding Network Hokkaido who says there is no factual basis for suggestions that stranded whales are precursors for earthquakes, not least because dolphins or whales are stranded every day in Japan.

Reviewed by Deutsche Welle ↗ · July 30, 2025