A Long, Painful Reckoning.

The article examines the number of victims of the Sendai earthquake and ensuing tsunami which struck Japan on March 11, 2011. Reasons why the official government estimate of 12,920 dead or missing following the disaster is considered to be a fraction of the number of actual victims are discussed, particularly the fact that Japan's government does not declare persons missing unless they are reported as missing by a citizen, while in many places residents have either been evacuated or are victims