Japan marks 12th anniversary of 2011’s earthquake

People watch fireworks during a memorial in Futaba on Saturday. Pic/AFP

Japan, on Saturday, marked the 12th anniversary of the massive earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster of 2011. A minute of silence was observed, as concerns grew ahead of the planned release of the treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, and the government's return to nuclear energy.

The 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that ravaged large parts of Japan's northeastern coast on March 11, 2011, left more than 22,000 people dead. The nation went silent at 2.46 pm, the moment the earthquake struck.

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Some residents in the tsunami-hit northern regions of Iwate and Miyagi walked down to the coast to pray for their loved ones, and the 2,519 whose remains were never found.

At an elementary school in Sendai, north of Fukushima, participants released hundreds of colourful balloons in memory of the lives lost. In Tokyo, dozens gathered at an anniversary event in a park, and anti-nuclear activists staged a rally.

22K
No of people who died during March 11, 2011 earthquake

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