Japan remembers 2011 tsunami

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Japan's Emperor Naruhito, right, and Empress Masako bow in front of the altar for victims of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami at the national memorial service in Tokyo. Associated Press/Photo by Behrouz Mehri/Pool photo

Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga attended a memorial service in Tokyo and observed a moment of silence at 2:46 p.m., the exact time a 9.0-magnitude earthquake hit Japan's northeast coast 10 years ago. Across the country, people carried bouquets to relatives’ graves while others gathered at memorial sites. In Kyoto, authorities tested emergency drills.

What happened? On March 11, 2011, the earthquake triggered a tsunami that destroyed towns and caused meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. More than 18,000 people died. Authorities spent about $280 billion to rebuild the affected coastal towns, while more than 40,000 people still can’t return home because of the nuclear plant. Thursday’s ceremony comes two weeks before the Olympic torch run begins from Fukushima for the Tokyo Summer Games in July.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archive, read Julie Borg’s report on the long-term effects of the Fukushima meltdown.

Onize Ohikere

Onize is WORLD’s Africa reporter and deputy global desk chief. She is a World Journalism Institute graduate and earned a journalism degree from Minnesota State University–Moorhead. Onize resides in Abuja, Nigeria.

@onize_ohiks