Japan it continues to rebound at full speed from a tragedy so enormous that in any other country in the world it would have taken decades to overcome. The earthquake and the tsunami of March 11th has highlighted the innate strength of the Japanese who, while they continue to mourn their deceased and pray for the disappeared, are walking steadily towards the future.
Let us remember that the number of victims who lost their lives due to earthquake and the tsunami stands at 15,744, while the missing is also disheartening: 4,227; which means that so many other families have not yet been able to bury their loved ones.
Japan they are used to earthquakes and, furthermore, they are not afraid of them. Its citizens are trained not to panic when an earthquake shakes the ground under their feet, in fact, they are taught from a very young age to take the proper precautions so as not to be badly injured. Buildings are also prepared for earthquakes, more than anywhere else in the world. We have all been speechless at times when we see on television how a very tall building in a large Japanese city moves from one side to another as if it were made of rubber without suffering any type of damage to its structure.
However, the earthquake March 11 was stronger than they were prepared to bear and uncovered some or other lack in the reaction capacity of their rulers. And it is that an earthquake of 9 degrees on the Richter scale is one of the most destructive forces that we can run into on planet Earth. Likewise, it has been reported that, since that earthquake, there have been another 560 of between 5 and 6 degrees of magnitude on the Richter scale, 93 of more than six degrees and six of a magnitude greater than 7 degrees.
The aftershock zone is located in the same place affected by the great earthquake in March, although Japanese meteorological authorities have indicated that there may also be derived tremors in the central areas of the country: Nagano, Niigata, Shizuoka and Akita.
The Japanese archipelago is located in the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, so, as we have pointed out before, it is quite used to earthquakes. These do not usually have too serious consequences due to safety protocols and building regulations.