While Fukishima and the nuclear reactors have received negative attention, some impressive feats of Japanese earthquake preparedness haven't :

"Even as the Fukushima Daiichi reactors smoke, it's worth noting they were protected by the highest sea walls in the world. And while the scale of the tragedy prevents us from celebrating the achievements of Japan's engineering corps, no skyscrapers tumbled during the strongest earthquake in a century. No trains traveling 150 miles per hour derailed. All the drills and preparations of civil servants, families, and companies reaped the most precious of all harvests: lives saved.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_13/b4221011428458_page_3.htm