Ten years after the tsunami and nuclear disaster that struck Japan, the country's experience in getting through that devastating tragedy remains a guide in a world where disruptive natural challenges need to be met through social resilience. On March 11, 2011, the strongest earthquake in Japanese history, with a magnitude of 9.0, triggered a tsunami that reached a height of over 30m in some areas. The monster waves also engulfed the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, causing reactor meltdowns in what was one of the world's worst nuclear accidents. Contemporary Japanese history was altered forever by the iconic devastation of Fukushima.

However, the Japanese character was not altered. The stoicism that has marked the country and the people's response to historical adversity manifested itself again in the reaction to the twin disasters. There was no social breakdown by way of widespread looting of shops or, worse, rioting. Not unaccustomed to earthquakes, the Japanese people came together and dealt with the scale of these disasters as one society. Social resilience, neighbourliness and determination prevailed over this natural aberration and Japan continued to be itself. There are lessons in their experience for a world fighting the coronavirus pandemic today. Like the tsunami, Covid-19 was a sudden attack on the familiar fabric of society. Unlike the tsunami, the pandemic has gone from being a local outbreak first detected in China to an international catastrophe. What matters most is how those affected responded to the affliction. The stoical habits of the Japanese in overcoming Fukushima offer a salutary lesson to people around the world in meeting the challenge of Covid-19. Governments, markets and civil society need to work together. Indeed, international cooperation is essential to handle the effects of what is a global problem by definition.