This study examines the impact of the 2011 Japan Earthquake on firms' pollution strategies in Japan, China, and South Korea. Treating the earthquake as an exogenous event, the analysis finds that Japanese firms show an increase the external costs of land and water pollutants (LWP), while Korean firms reduce, and Chinese firms remain unaffected. The key driver is financial performance: high LWP harms Korean firms but benefits Japanese firms, implying that immediate recovery efforts took precedence over environmental investments. The study concludes with a stock return analysis which shows that pollution risks are immediately priced into Japanese firms but only became significant for South Korean and Chinese firms after Japan's 2021 announcement to release treated radioactive water.