Everyone awaits the day they turn eighteen. Eighteen marks the beginning of adulthood; the ability to make certain decisions on your own, play the lottery, not have a curfew, go clubbing, and get a tattoo....

It came as a shock to everyone as a 9.0 earthquake cracked through Japan, but what made it a big devastation were the disasters that followed. As if coming out of the movie of 2012, a giant tsunami of...