2011年3月11日，日本当地时间14时46分，日本东北部海域发生里氏9.0级地震并引发海啸，造成重大人员伤亡和财产损失。地震引发的海啸影响到太平洋沿岸的大部分地区，并且造成日本福岛第一核电站1-4号机组发生核泄漏事故，触动了世界。此次地震也被称为“东日本大地震”。 

　　作为世界上一支具有决定性力量的经济体，日本在地震中所遭受的打击也让正处于经济危机“恢复期”的世界经济又绷紧了神经。国际货币基金会组织发言人阿特金森曾表示“日本正在发生的事态显然对全球经济造成影响”，认为短期内东日本地震将冲击日本和全球经济。 

　　全球共有232个国家和地区，单从面积上看，陆地面积只有37万多平方千米的日本，在全球的排名在60名左右，虽地域狭小但却地震频发的国家。仅从震级来看，日本东地震不算最大，从死伤人数上看也不是最多。1960年的智利大地震震级高达里氏8.9级(又有报为9.5级)。发生在智利中部海域，并引发海啸及火山爆发。为历史上震级最高的一次地震。但没有哪一次地震像日本东地震这样对世界经济影响这么大。为什么这么一个小小的国家发生的地震会影响全世界、会震动全球经济? 

　　日本在19世纪60年代前，是一个落后的闭关自守的封建农业国家，70年代，推行军国主义路线，靠对外侵略，发动战争掠夺财富而迅速崛起。二战战败，日本经济出现严重崩溃。然而战后，日本利用岛国多优良港湾的特点，大量进口原料和燃料，再利用当时日本国内高素质、低价格的劳动力，对原材料进行加工，成品再出口到国际市场。当时国际市场上大多数国家，经过一场战争，正是百废待兴，对工业产品的需求量很大，从而成全了日本的经济发展。日本也逐渐形成了“进口——加工——出口”型经济。这种类型的经济在国际贸易市场上是占主动地位的，获利也是颇丰的，但它对国际市场的依赖性很强，一旦国际市场出现风吹草动，势必会影响到日本的经济，同样，日本的经济也会影响国际经济的发展。可以说，日本的经济发展模式把自己的命运和整个世界维系在了一起。 

　　随着世界市场的逐渐形成，20世纪末的日本的产品已经凭借可靠的加工技术在国际市场占据了一席之地。换句话说，日本已经把世界市场当成了自家的市场，而世界市场上要是没有了日本人的东西肯定也会有人挨饿。日本经济可以说是世界经济一体化大格局下比较成功的典型，一体化让市场更加丰富了，但同时也造成了彼此更强的依赖性。 

　　此次的地震给日本带来了严重的人员伤亡和财产损失，由于地震引发海啸、火灾，一些城市，如岩手县陆前高田市、气仙沼市几乎全城毁灭，而日本福岛第一核电站的核泄漏，是过去20多年间世界上最严重的核事故。据路透社报道，巴克莱资本和瑞士信贷银行的预测认为，日本的灾难损失估计可能超过15万亿日元，约占日本GDP的3％。而日本地震给世界带来的影响却是无可估量的。　

On March 11, 2011, an earthquake with a Richter magnitude of 9.0 occurred at fourteen to three o'clock p.m. (local time in Japan) in the northeastern waters of Japan and a tsunami was produced by the earthquake, which caused heavy casualties and property losses. The tsunami produced by the earthquake affected the most area along the coast of Pacific Ocean and it caused the nuclear leakage accident of No. 1-4 units at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant of Japan, which touched the whole world. The earthquake is also known as “Great East Japan Earthquake”.

Japan is a decisive economic entity in the world, so the heavy blow suffered by Japan from the earthquake also makes the world economy in the “Recovery Phase” of an economic crisis become nervous. Atkinson, who is the organization spokesman of International Monetary Fund, has ever said that the occurent state of affairs in Japan exerts an influence on the global economy obviously, and he deemed that the east Japan earthquake would exert negative impacts on Japan and global economy within a short time.

There are 232 countries and regions in the world, in terms of area only, Japan with a land area of only over 370,000 square kilometers ranks about the sixtieth in the world, though it covers a small area, it is a country where earthquake happens frequently. In terms of earthquake magnitude only, the east Japan earthquake is not the most violent earthquake, in terms of casualties, it is not the earthquake with the heaviest casualties either. The earthquake magnitude of great Chilean earthquake in 1960 is high up to Richter magnitude 8.9 (it is also reported as magnitude 9.5 by some media). It occurred at the central sea area of Chile and causes tsunami and volcanic explosion. It is the earthquake with the highest earthquake magnitude in history. However, no earthquake exerts such a heavy influence on the world economy like east Japan earthquake. Why the earthquake happened in such a small country would influence the whole world and shock the global economy?

Before the 1860s, Japan was a backward and introverted feudal agricultural country, in the 1870s, Japan carried out militarism route and rose rapidly by foreign aggression and warring for plunder of wealth. After Japan was defeated in the Second World War, the economy of Japan faced serious collapse. However, after the war, Japan utilized the island country’s feature with many excellent harbors to import a great quantity of raw materials and fuel, utilized highly qualified and low-price labour force at that time in Japan to process raw materials and then export finished products to the international market. At that time, most countries in the international market were devastated after the war and they were having a great demand for industrial products and thus they helped Japan achieve its economic development. An “Import-Processing-Export” type economy was also formed gradually in Japan. This kind of economy plays a controlling position in the international trade market and also makes a fat profit, however, it has a very strong dependence on the international market, once there is a sign of disturbance or trouble on the international market, the economy of Japan will be affected inevitably, in the meantime, the economy of Japan will also influence the development of international economy. So we can say that the economic development model of Japan holds its fate together with the whole world.

Along with the gradual formation of world market, Japanese products in the late 20th century had taken a tiny space on the international market depending on reliable processing technologies. In other words, Japan has taken the world market as its own market, in case Japanese products disappear on the world market, there must be some people suffering from hunger or starvation. The economy of Japan is a relatively successful model under the grand pattern of world economic integration as it were, the integration makes the market become richer and causes stronger dependence on each other.

The earthquake brought serious casualties and property loss to Japan, because the earthquake gave rise to tsunami and fire, some cities such as Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture and Kesennuma have almost been destroyed and Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant also suffered a nuclear leakage which is the most serious nuclear accident in the past over 20 years. According to the report of Reuter's News Agency, the forecasts of Barclays Capital and Credit Suisse Bank deem that, the catastrophic loss of Japan may exceed JPY 15,000 billion which accounts for 3% of the GDP of Japan. The impact exerted by the earthquake in Japan on the world is immeasurable.