Japan's 2011 Earthquake: Honshu Shifted 14 Feet Eastward

Yes, the magnitude 9.0 Tohoku earthquake on March 11, 2011, moved the main island of Honshu horizontally by up to 4.3 meters (≈14 feet) eastward, as measured by GPS stations across the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan's network.

The quake occurred on the subduction zone where the Pacific Plate thrust beneath the Okhotsk Plate. The sudden release of centuries of accumulated strain caused:

• Coastal subsidence of up to 1.2 m in some areas.
• Seafloor displacement of 20–50 m, generating the devastating tsunami.
• Changes in Earth's rotation (shortened day by 1.8 microseconds) and axis shift (≈17 cm).

It remains the largest recorded earthquake in Japan's history and the fourth largest worldwide since 1900.