Japan Rises from Ruin

The tragedy that befell Japan on March 11 was, first and foremost, a human one. After the impact of the magnitude 9.0 quake—the largest ever recorded in Japan, and fourth-largest globally since 1900—a 30-foot tsunami, and a subsequent nuclear crisis, the sad tabulation of lives lost and missing continues. The death toll at press time stands at 12,344, and more than 15,000 people remain unaccounted for.

As well as the devastating human loss, concerns exist about how the nation is going to fund