PrefaceSoon after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, a tsunami struck Japan's eastern shores, inflicting damage to the country, particularly in the northeastern region of Tohoku. All of the authors of this report were at the scene of the disaster and saw the victims endure the crisis in a civil manner and engage in mutual assistance despite the difficult circumstances: the disruption of all utilities and supply networks for days or weeks. The reaction by the people in the affected areas was impressive. Consequently, the authors immediately began a psychological study of the behavior and attitudes of victims of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and resulting tsunami.?On August 9, 2013, the first author attended a round table meeting held by the Psychology Faculty of Lomonosov Moscow State University, where he had the opportunity to deliver a talk on the topic. This article summarizes the contents of that talk and presents additional studies.1. General information about the 2011 great east Japan earthquakeThe 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake had a magnitude of 9.0 Mw. It occurred under the Pacific Ocean about 130 km east of Sendai on March 11th, generating powerful tremors and huge tsunami waves. The disaster caused 15,555 deaths. Moreover, 5,344 people are still missing (Disaster Management, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan, July 12, 2011). Although the most severely affected area was the Tohoku region, even Tokyo and Chiba prefecture, which are about 350 km from the epicenter, were affected. People in Chiba prefecture were affected by soil liquefaction caused by the tremors. Similarly, approximately 94,000 people in Tokyo and the surrounding areas were unable to return home because of traffic congestion (Yomiuri Shimbun, March 12, 2011). Looking back at the greatest earthquakes in recent Japanese history, the predominant cause of death in the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake was fire. During the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji earthquake, building collapses accounted for most deaths. During the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake, the death toll was high because of the huge tsunami, which exceeded all expectations. According to the post-mortem examinations conducted one month after the disaster, 92% of all disaster-related fatalities (12,143 / 13,135) in the Tohoku region were the direct result of drowning (National Police Agency of Japan, The White Paper on Police 2011).In addition, the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant worsened the situation in several ways. According to data recorded on November 16, 2011, 60,251 residents of Fukushima prefecture were evacuated to other prefectures; 47,995 people had still not returned to their home towns by as late as February 13, 2014 (Reconstruction Agency of Japan, Feb. 26, 2014).Therefore, the eminent characteristics of the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake were the following: (1) the disaster-affected area was very broad, (2) the main cause of death was tsunami-related drowning, and (3) the occurrence of the consequent nuclear disaster worsened the situations and obstructed the recovery progress.2. Evacuating lives in an orderly manner: Worldwide admirationOn March 14, 2011, only three days after the disaster's occurrence, a special Tokyo Broadcasting System television news program, and later many newspapers, reported that overseas media had praised the residents of disaster-affected areas for their patience and lack of confusion. For example, the Kahoku Shimpo (March 17, 2011), the dominant local newspaper of the Tohoku region, reported that the American media had published articles full of admiration for the orderly lines of people waiting for food without looting or engaging in illegal activity.Presumably, people hold the conventional belief that chaotic conditions such as panic and looting are representative of conditions that follow a natural disaster. However, abundant sociological and psychological studies have highlighted the scarcity of deviant behavior such as panic and looting after disasters (Clarke, 2002; Fahy & Proulx, 2009; Quarantelli & Dynes, 1970; Wenger, Dykes, Sebok, & Neff, 1975). …