Tokyo, 11 March, /AJMEDIA/
Japan on Saturday marked 12 years since a massive earthquake and tsunami struck the country’s northeastern areas, claiming the lives of over 15,000 people and triggering a nuclear disaster that will take decades to clean up.
Recovery from the magnitude-9.0 earthquake and resultant tsunami that devastated the region has progressed in the ensuing years, but some 31,000 people remain displaced as of November 2022. Cleanup plans at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear complex are also stoking controversy.
More than a decade on from the disaster, the national government no longer hosts a memorial service, with municipalities in affected areas holding events at a reduced scale.
