There’s nothing like an earthquake to ring in the New Year. That thought crossed the minds of many Tokyoites on Jan. 1 as a magnitude 7.0 trembler shook us out of our holiday slumber.

Really, if there’s any developed nation that was glad to see 2011 end, it was Japan. The radiation crisis caused by the March earthquake and tsunami was but the biggest news in a year that included deepening deflation, credit downgrades, the resignation of a fifth prime minister in as many years and an Olympus Corp. scandal that spooked investors the world over.