Japan commemorates earthquake and tsunami victims

A memorial ceremony was held for those who lost their lives in the 2011 magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami in the Tohoku region of northeast Japan.

Sirens sounded at commemoration ceremonies held in different parts of the country, including the capital Tokyo, on the 12th anniversary of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster.

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, who attended the commemoration ceremony organized by the Fukushima Prefectural Governor’s Office, vowed that the Japanese government will do its best for the construction of the Tohoku region, especially Fukushima. Noting the progress in the process of removing evacuation orders in Tohoku, Kishida said that this progress is a sign of Fukushima’s redevelopment.

THE TSUNAMI WAS A DISASTER

In 2011, as a result of the tsunami that followed the magnitude 9 earthquake off the coast of Miyagi province, 15,900 people lost their lives in the region and more than 2,500 people went missing.

Due to the nuclear meltdown caused by the reactor disaster at the Fukushima Dai-içi Nuclear Power Plant, the residential areas surrounding the plant were evacuated.

As of November 2022, it is known that the number of people displaced by evacuation orders exceeds 30,000. (AA)