Now that's interesting. Apparently, the quake was so great that it made the earth spin faster, and some parts of Japan's coastline have shifted up to 4 meters to the east.
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The quake probably shifted Earth on its axis by about 6.5 inches (16.5cm) and caused the planet to rotate somewhat faster, shortening the length of the day by about 1.8 millionths of a second.
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{Japan's Geographical Survey Institute}'s data show{s} a movement eastwards of up to 4m in coastal areas of Japan.
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Dr Ken Hudnut, a geophysicist at the US Geological Survey (USGS) in Pasadena, California, told MSNBC that information resources linking GPS readings to maps, such as driving directions and property records, would have to be changed as a result of the shift.
"{Japan's} national network for property boundary definitions has been warped," he explained. "For ships, the nautical charts will need revision due to changed water depths, too (of about 3ft). Much of the coastline dropped by a few feet, too, we gather."
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I wonder what the Haiti and NZ quakes did?