Is North America Moving Toward or Away from Japan?

North America is moving away from Japan.

This is due to plate tectonics. The North American Plate (carrying most of North America) and the Eurasian/Okhotsk Plates (underlying Japan) are diverging at the Japan Trench and the broader Pacific boundary. The Pacific Plate subducts beneath Japan, while the North American Plate moves generally westward, but the relative motion at this boundary results in an increasing separation distance over geological time.

The rate is on the order of centimeters per year—imperceptible in human timescales but significant over millions of years.