Relatively low contamination levels in western Japan could be explained by mountain ranges sheltering those regions from the dispersal of radioactive material, the authors said.

BBC: Fukushima fallout fears over Japan farms

"In Japan, women take the initiative to get married -- and the trend for them had been to focus on their career and enjoy single life, " explained Ritsuko Matsui, a prominent psychiatrist who counseled survivors of Japan's last devastating quake around Kobe in 1995, which left more than 6, 000 people dead.

CNN: Wedding bells toll in post-quake Japan

"Pierluigi and I were in the hotel in Japan together and we had to wait and see what happened, " Merk explained.

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It has been explained in terms of the recruitment process used by major corporations in Japan, which discourages job applicants from being abroad at key stages.

FORBES: Japan's Continued Retreat From U.S. Classrooms

Wack explained this form of seeing by telling the story of a gardener he had once met in Japan.

ECONOMIST: Guru