Earth
An extremely unusual tectonic movement took place 15 minutes after the Tohoku earthquake in 2011, causing almost the whole of Japan to move 5 millimetres to the east
By James Woodford
18 June 2026
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Almost the whole of Japan moved eastward after 2011 earthquake
An extremely unusual tectonic movement took place 15 minutes after the Tohoku earthquake in 2011, causing almost the whole of Japan to move 5 millimetres to the east
TL;DRAI
The 2011 Tohoku earthquake caused a 5mm eastward shift across 3,000km of Japan 15 minutes post-quake via core-reflected seismic waves. Delayed secondary propagation across vast zones challenges disaster recovery planning for critical infrastructure in active seismic regions.
562 words~3 min read
