OXFORD, England — When the offshore Tohoku mega-quake caused tsunami to slam ashore on March 11, crippling the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, Japan was figuratively as well as literally shaken.

In the disaster zone, communities and families were literally torn apart. In less-stricken areas the damage has been more subtle, but the emotional tremors are still being felt worldwide.

Since the crisis began to unfold, people in Japan and abroad have struggled to make sense of an increasingly tangled thicket of information. Foreign and domestic news sources, government information and personal accounts have presented conflicting reports of radiation levels and varying forecasts of worst-case scenarios.