Japan’s magnitude 9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami on March 11, 2011 was the worst in the island nation’s recorded history. It devastated the northern region of Japan known as Tohoku and caused one of the worst ever nuclear accidents. 3/11, as it has become known, has been labeled the “gravest crisis” that Japan has encountered since World War II. Yet even in its darkest moment, Japan’s resilience and collective response shone. In a culture esteeming patience, respect, and stoicism, the Japanese people were uniquely suited to adapting post-3/11. But the Japanese government has remained stubbornly resistant to change, despite the tectonic plates that have shifted both figuratively and literally.