Reactions

There were many Reactions to the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami.

According to Japan's foreign ministry, a total of 116 countries and 28 organizations had offered help in some way to Japan.

Groups
Japan received offers of assistance from 33 international organizations. Many religious organisations and groups sent aid to Japan. Groups such as Médecins Sans Frontières, the Red Cross society and the Salvation Army aided the relief effort and corporations such as Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, Nintendo, the Walt Disney Company, Nestlé and Sony contributed donations.

The total number of corporate donations numbered at US$130,008,543. Softbank (JPN), Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (JPN), Samsung (KOR), NCSoft (KOR) and Mitsubishi (JPN) were the top five donators.

However, such a large disaster, and the resultant environmental disaster that was Fukushima attracted the attention, help, and criticism of environmental groups, such as Greenpeace, which assisted with determining which areas to evacuate.

13 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have deployed assistance to Japan. Turkish Red Crescent, Switzerland Humanitarian Aid Response Team, Save the Children, and Plan International have deployed technical assistance teams in the affected areas.The World Flood Programme has assisted in the transportation of 60,000 blankets to affected areas. U.N.'s International Telecommunication Union has given out emergency contact equipment, including many satellite phones and GPS devices. A further 32 NGOs are taking action for the victims under a network organization called JANIC in their various own ways. A summary of their activities following the disasters can be found at this external link.

Many Yakuza groups, despite being crime syndicates oftentimes compared to the Western mafia, helped provide aid to Japanese following the catastrophe. Yakuza groups have been sending trucks from the Tokyo and Kobe regions to deliver food, water, blankets and toiletries to evacuation centers in northeast Japan. This may be because Yakuza are used to know what it is like to fend for oneself, without any government or community support, because they are considered outcasts.

Within Japan
The Government of Japan declared areas within a 20km radius a "no-go zone" and evacuated residents living near the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. The zone later expanded to nearby, highly contaminated areas. The then-Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan mobilized the Japanese Armed Forces in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. The Japanese government then set aside significant funding to help the rebuilding of the country after the earthquake. However, people became angry after it was revealed that a portion of the fund was used to help fun the country's whaling fleet.

Following the disaster, all ministries and departments such as Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Health became involved with the immediate response. Each had different roles, for example the Ministry of Health was in charge of preparing suitable vehicles for supplying water and assigning hospitals for remedy of casualties and people who have been exposed to radiation. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries with Ministry of Finance were responsible for providing food, portable toilets, blanket, radio, gasoline and other essentials. The transport systems includes subway, shipping and the Shinkansen bullet train ceased their activity in Sendai and Tokyo instantly after the quake.

The Japanese governments immediate response, or lack thereof, has come under heavy criticism by the public. More information about this matter can be found on the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster article.

Outside Japan
The countries that donated the most to help the Japan are as follows: Source for the table: 

Table
A total of 128 countries offered aid to Japan, including Australia. Japan specifically requested a rescue team from Australia, as well as New Zealand, South Korea, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, numbering 68 rescue teams in all.