On the 12th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake, people clasped their hands together at a ceremony on the coast of Arahama, Wakabayashi District, Sendai City. Taken on the morning of March 11. (Kyodo)
[Kyodo News Agency, March 11]The Great East Japan Earthquake, which killed about 22,000 people, will celebrate its 12th anniversary on the 11th. It is the worst natural disaster in Japan after the war. In the disaster-stricken area, mainly in the three prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima, the bereaved families put their hands together to mourn the deceased. Despite progress in infrastructure construction, about 31,000 people across the country are currently living in evacuation due to the impact of the Fukushima nuclear accident. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attended the ceremony hosted by Fukushima Prefecture in the afternoon.
At Fumon-ji Temple in Rikuzentakata City, Iwate Prefecture, stone statues made by the bereaved family members are lined up. The parents of Onodera Motoko (29 years old at the time) who came from Eniwa, Hokkaido, said: “We are here.” The parents caressed the stone statue carved in mourning.
More than 500 people were killed in the Nogar area of Higashi Matsushima City, Miyagi Prefecture. At Choonji Temple, where the abbot Akiyama Kiyomichi (49 years old at the time) died, his younger brother Kosumi (55 years old) who succeeded the abbot held the “Thirteen Hui Ji” ceremony.
Parts of Futaba Town, Fukushima Prefecture were finally able to live last summer. “It’s been a long 12 years,” said Shiro Suzuki (60), who was teaching at a high school in the town at the time of the accident. As a narrator, he visited the “Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Heritage Museum” in the town.
At 2:46 pm on March 11, 2011, a massive earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 occurred off the coast of Sanriku. According to statistics from the National Police Agency, as of the end of February this year, a total of 15,900 people died and 2,523 were missing across the country. According to the Revival Agency, as of the end of March last year, the number of related deaths due to fatigue during the evacuation reached 3,789. (over)