Japanese building codes are strict because they know their risk of earthquakes and tsunamis is so high. There was nothing that could have saved the areas that got washed away by the tsunami, but so many of their buildings did survive because of those strict codes, and in retrospect, I bet their ROI is 10-fold or more, even before you factor in the loss of human life. There isn't an investment out there that will get you that rate of return, and it makes me jealous as I look around at America's infrastructure crumbling to pieces as we defer more and more maintenance of our water mains, bridges, tunnels, and roads, not to mention the complete disregard for mass transit.

I think the Japanese economy will survive this shock, and it's in no small part due to their investment in the country's infrastructure.