Did the "Supermoon" cause the earthquake and tsunami in Japan today?

According to the link you offered, not likely.

"In fact, though, the quake happened a full two weeks before the supermoon, and scientists say there's really nothing to worry about.

"It's possible that the moon may be a kilometer or two closer to Earth than normal at a perigee, but it's an utterly insignificant event," space author David Harland told the Daily Mail.

Indeed, because it's a full moon, the sun and moon are actually pulling on the earth from opposite directions, weakening rather than strengthening tides. So just sit back and appreciate the view."

The sun and moon do affect the earth by their gravitational pull but it's unclear whether that effect can influence or cause very large earthquakes. They can induce smaller ones if the conditions are right or if subsurface water lubricates the plates enough to cause rapid slippage or faulting.

At this point, it's too hard to say exactly.

"Several recent studies, however, have found a correlation between earth tides (caused by the position of the moon relative to the earth) and some types of earthquakes.

One study, for example, concludes that during times of higher earth and ocean tides, such as during times of full or new moon, earthquakes are more likely on shallow thrust faults near the edges of continents and in (underwater) subduction zones. Lunar or solar eclipses represent, of course, special cases of full and new moon, but do not cause any special or different tidal effects from full and new moon. Earth tides (Earth's surface going up and down by a couple of centimeters) and especially ocean tides (surface of the ocean going up and down by a meter or more) raise and lower the confining pressure on shallow, dipping faults near continental edges and in subduction zones. When the confining pressure is lessened, the faults are unclamped and more likely to slip. The increased probability is a factor of ~3 during high tides. But you must stop are realize that the background probability is, in general, very low in a given place and year (fractions of a percent), so that raising this tiny probability by a factor of 3 during high tides still results in a very tiny probability.

There have also been some small but significant correlations reported between the semi-diurnal tides and the rate of occurrence of aftershocks in some volcanic regions, such as Mammoth Lakes. (UC Berkeley)"

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/faq/?categoryID=6...

More info on slow slips......

Subsurface water may lubricate plates and allow them to slip or slide faster or imperceptibly.....higher periods of gravitational pull could provide a tipping point and induce an earthquake if the conditions are right.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_n9_...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9344438/

http://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/Contexts/Earthquake...

No, the 'supermoon' did not trigger the earthquake/tsunami in Japan. The moon has enough gravitational force to affect the tides on earth, but nowhere near enough to pull on the actual crust of our planet. In short, the moon doesn't have any significant effect on Earth's geologic activity.

Well, even though the supermoon isn't till the 19 of March, my guess is yes. The cosmos is just freaking out, getting ready for the supermoon.

no.... look back over the years and you'll see that nothing even close to this earthquake happened to Earth when the moon was close to us as it will be....

wow, fifty thousand km closer than it was last month (31,000 miles).....1600 km (995 miles)closer than the month before???.... let's get real here.... the Moon isn't causing anything but tides, dear....

http://www.astropro.com/features/tables/cen21ce/mo...

that table shows the distances quite nicely....you might notice that the numbers 36k and 40 k happen with great regularity?....yeah... relax.....this 35k ain't no biggie...

Yeah, cos it shows that moon had come nearer to earth.

Read this..!

It depends on what u believe.