Japan marks 14th anniversary of quake, tsunami, nuclear disaster

Japan on Tuesday marked 14 years since a devastating earthquake and tsunami rocked the country's northeast, triggering a nuclear crisis, with residents in one of the hardest-hit areas again reeling from the impact of a natural disaster.

The commemoration came at a particularly hard time for residents of Ofunato in Iwate Prefecture, who have evacuated due to a massive wildfire that broke out in late February. The blaze has been contained, with all evacuation orders lifted by Monday.

When the triple disasters struck 14 years ago, scores of people were forced from their homes. The disaster-prone nation has since taken steps to be better prepared for natural calamities, including the handling of evacuations and rebuilding the affected areas.

People across Japan observed a moment of silence and prayer for the victims at 2:46 p.m., when the magnitude-9.0 temblor struck off the Pacific coast, leading to more than 22,000 deaths.

At a memorial service hosted by Fukushima Prefecture, where the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex is located, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba offered his condolences and pledged to make Japan a world leader in disaster prevention.

"We will leverage our experience from the disaster to implement thorough disaster preparedness and strengthen our response system," Ishiba said.

Residents of the three hardest-hit prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima gathered from early morning to mourn the victims.

At the site of the former disaster prevention office in Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, where 43 people, including town officials, died, Masayuki Nitanai, an official of the town's general affairs division, offered prayers.

"Even though people remember the tragedy, I feel that disaster awareness is fading. I want to keep passing on the importance of disaster prevention to protect this town," the 59-year-old said.

At Usuiso beach in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, Reiko Endo, 59, remembered a friend she lost to the tsunami as she faced the gentle waves.

"After 14 years, I can finally look at the sea with a sense of calm," Endo said. "I don't usually talk about the disaster much, but on this day, I reflect on those who passed away and feel gratitude for my own life."

Meanwhile, 19-year-old university student Kazutomo Tamashiro observed a moment of silence at the Takatamatsubara Memorial Park in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, where the "miracle pine" that survived the devastating tsunami still stands.

Having experienced a large earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture in southwestern Japan in 2016, he said, "I am visiting disaster-hit areas to learn about recovery. I want to think about what I can do for my hometown and the Tohoku region."

While recovery is progressing in the three prefectures, about 28,000 people remain displaced across the nation, and areas in seven municipalities in Fukushima are still designated as off-limits due to radiation, according to the Reconstruction Agency.

In Chojahara, a district in the Fukushima town of Okuma where entry remains prohibited, a stone monument bearing the names of 44 residents who died while evacuated was completed last month.

Mitsuyoshi Yamaguchi, 80, the local district chief who led the project, visited the site alone on Tuesday and planted cherry blossoms.

"They cannot be laid to rest in their hometown graves. At the very least, I wanted to leave their names here," he said.

Cleanup efforts at the Fukushima complex continue amid controversy over the release into the sea of treated radioactive wastewater from the crippled plant, with decommissioning expected to last for several decades.

Drawing on lessons from the worst nuclear crisis since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, a Kyodo News survey found that 72 of 116 municipalities located within 30 kilometers of reactors across Japan feel the need to review their evacuation plans for nuclear accidents.

In the survey, 28 municipalities said they had not included the possibility of severed roads in their current evacuation plans.

© KYODO