This paper presents a detailed reconstruction of the state of stress in the Earth's crust in the Japanese seismic focal zone before the Tohoku earthquake of March 11, 2011. The stress parameters are determined using the method of cataclastic analysis (MCA) of discontinuous displacements. This method integrates some of the main principles of the theory of plastic deformation and a generalization of the results of rock failure experiments. The reconstruction of the state of stress is based on earthquake focal mechanism data for two magnitude ranges, Mw: 1) 3.0–5.5 and 2) 5.0–7.0. The calculations for the first data set are performed at six depths. Stress reconstruction for the second data set is performed from 0 to 50 km. The focal mechanism data provides reasonably stable parameters of the stress field for magnitudes in this range. A large amount of data on the focal mechanisms of earthquakes with magnitudes between 3.0 and 5.5 has allowed us to obtain new data on changes in the stress field, which were missed in the previous calculation for the second data set. It is shown that in the upper part of the lithosphere (up to 90 km) the axis of maximum compression is generally oriented slightly (25–35°) under the oceanic plate west of the Japan Trench, and it dips subvertically east of the trench. The upper part of the tectonosphere is divided into two geodynamic regimes: subhorizontal compression west of the trench axis and subhorizontal extension east of the trench axis. West of the Japan Trench, the axis of maximum horizontal compression (SHmax) is orthogonal to the trench axis, but east of the Japan Trench, its orientation has changed (~ 90°). The underthrusting shear stress that acts normal to the horizontal planes has a similar west and west-southwest direction in the upper layers (0–50 km). Deviations in the orientation are observed at depths between 70 and 90 km at the junction between the Japan Trench and the Nankai Trough and in the crust of the northeastern part of the Tohoku region. Obtained results are summarized in 2 D-pattern, which can be used to explain the loading mechanism in the region of the Tohoku earthquake. The results of the stress reconstruction also allowed us to obtain the new specific features of the field stress: the oceanic trench divides lithosphere into the areas of high effective pressure west of the trench axis and the areas of low effective pressure east of the trench axis. The rupture developed in the area of the maximum stress gradient and it stopped in the north-east and the south-west directions, where there were areas of high effective pressure.