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Japan fell silent on Thursday to mark 10 years of the worst natural disaster in the country’s living memory: a powerful earthquake, a deadly tsunami and a nuclear collapse that traumatized a nation.
A minute of silence was observed across the country at 2.46 p.m. local time (0546 GMT), the precise moment when a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck the northeast coast on March 11, 2011.
Around 18,500 people died or were missing in the disaster, most of them claimed by the towering waves triggered by one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded.
The ensuing nuclear collapse at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant covered nearby areas with radiation, leaving some cities uninhabitable for years and displacing tens of thousands of residents.
Speaking at a ceremony at Tokyo’s national theater, Emperor Naruhito said that the “unforgettable memory of the tragedy” persisted a decade later.
“Many of those affected, despite having suffered unimaginably enormous damage, have overcome numerous difficulties helping each other,” he added.
The annual commemorative event was held before a smaller audience than usual, and the capital and nearby areas are currently in a state of emergency from viruses.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the challenges facing survivors have been compounded by the pandemic and natural disasters, including a recent strong earthquake in the region, classified as an aftershock of the 2011 earthquake.
But he said Japan had always “overcome all crises with courage and hope.”
Private and public commemorations were seen across Japan as grieving local residents laid flowers on graves and placed letters in the sea to missing family members.
When the sun rose in Hisanohama in Fukushima Prefecture, Toshio Kumaki, 78, walked along a giant boardwalk built after the tsunami and offered a prayer.
About 60 people were killed in Ohisa, one of the districts adjacent to the beach, when the seven-meter tsunami waves washed ashore, wiping out everything but a small sanctuary.
Kumaki’s eyes filled with tears as he remembered the disaster. “It was really scary.”
Tributes and condolences came from around the world, and everyone from UN Secretary Antonio Guterres to singer Lady Gaga offered their thoughts on the anniversary.
– ‘People died before my eyes’ –
Searches for those still missing are underway this week as loved ones refuse to give up hope of finding them even a decade later.
The chances of success may seem slim, but the remains of a woman missing since the tsunami were identified last week, in what her surviving son described as an opportunity to process her emotions and move on.
The disaster is being marked just two weeks before the Olympic torch relay begins in Fukushima prefecture, nodding to efforts to qualify the event as the ‘Games of Reconstruction’.
The pandemic has cast a long shadow over the Olympics, forcing it to be postponed for an unprecedented year, but the government and organizers hope the relay will return the spotlight to the region.
A decade later, the disaster has shaped Japan’s preparations for natural disasters, with many cities along the coast building new or higher sea walls.
Evacuation routes and plans have been refined and improved in a country that regularly deals with disasters ranging from typhoons to earthquakes.
Nayuta Ganbe in Sendai de Miyagi city often speaks at disaster prevention events, sharing her experience of the tsunami, but usually celebrates the anniversary in private.
“It’s the day I lost my classmates. People died before my eyes. March 11 is a day I hoped would never come back,” the 21-year-old recently told AFP.
But this year she has decided to participate in an anniversary event, hoping it will help her with the ongoing work of processing the trauma she experienced.
For others, the anniversary will be a time of private reflection on a tragedy that continues to resonate.
Tens of thousands of people who evacuated out of fear of radiation remain displaced, and about two percent of Fukushima remains off-limits.
Most of Japan’s nuclear reactors are still offline and the government’s plans to revitalize the sector are controversial.
The Rev. Akira Sato, who ministered in several churches in areas still largely outside the Fukushima plant boundaries, will spend the day reflecting on one of the churches he had to abandon.
“Together with my wife, I will silently remember the days of the disaster and offer a prayer.”
