Japan's Emperor Naruhito (right) and Empress Masako bow in front of an altar for victims of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, at the national memorial service in Tokyo, Japan, March 11, 2021. (BEHROUZ MEHRI / POOL PHOTO VIA AP)
IWAKI - With a moment of silence, prayers and anti-nuclear protests, Japan on Thursday mourned about 20,000 victims of the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan 10 years ago, destroying towns and triggering nuclear meltdowns in Fukushima.
Huge waves triggered by the 9.0-magnitude quake - one of the strongest on record - crashed into the northeastern coast, crippling the Fukushima Daiichi power plant and forcing more than 160,000 residents to flee as radiation spewed into the air.
The world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl and the tremor have left survivors struggling to overcome the grief of losing families and towns to the waves in a few frightening hours on the afternoon of March 11, 2011.
Japanese Emperor Naruhito said on Thursday that Japan, which has a long history of disasters, has to learn from the lessons of the past and build a stronger nation for the future
At 2:46 pm on Thursday, the exact moment the earthquake struck a decade ago, Emperor Naruhito and his wife led a moment of silence to honor the dead in a commemorative ceremony in Tokyo. Silent prayers were held across the country.
Naruhito expressed deep condolences for the victims and said problems still remained with recovery. The emperor added that Japan, which has a long history of disasters, has to learn from the lessons of the past and build a stronger nation for the future.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said at the ceremony that the loss of life was still impossible to contemplate.
"It is unbearable when I think of the feelings of all those who lost their loved ones and friends," said Suga, dressed in a black suit.
At the ceremony attended by emperor and prime minister, the attendees wore masks and kept their distance, and did not sing along with the national anthem to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
"I would like to express condolences from the bottom of my heart to everybody who suffered from the effects of the disaster," Suga added, reaffirming support for those affected by the disaster.
ALSO READ: Ten years after Fukushima, Japan remembers 'man-made' disaster
People pray for victims of the 2011 massive earthquake and tsunami, at a memorial cenotaph in Kesennuma, Miyagi prefecture, Japan, March 11, 2021. (YOHEI NISHIMURA / KYODO NEWS VIA AP)
About 50 kilometers south from the plant, in the gritty coastal city of Iwaki, which has since become a hub for laborers working on nuclear decommissioning, restaurant owner Atsushi Niizuma prayed to his mother killed by the waves.
"I want to tell my mother that my children, who were all close to her, are doing well. I came here to thank her that our family is living safely," said Niizuma, 47.
Before setting off for work, he quietly paid his respects at a stone monument at a seaside shrine with carvings of his mother's name, Mitsuko, and 65 others who died in the disaster.
On the day of the earthquake, Mitsuko was looking after his children. The children rushed into a car but Mitsuko was swept away by the waves as she returned to the house to grab her belongings. It took a month to recover her body, Niizuma said.
People offer silent prayers before releasing dove-shaped balloons into the sky to mourn the victims of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami. In Natori, Miyagi prefecture, Japan, on March 11, 2021. (KAZUHIRO NOGI / AFP)
Remembering the dead
About two dozen residents gathered with Niizuma to decorate it with paper cranes, flowers and yellow handkerchiefs with messages of hope sent by students from across the country.
"It was sleeting 10 years ago, and it was cold. The coldness always brought me back to the memory of what happened on the day," said Hiroko Ishikawa, 62.
"But with my back soaking up the sun today, we are feeling more relaxed. It's as if the sun is telling us that 'It's okay, why don't you go talk with everyone who came back to visit their hometown?'"
Miyagi prefectural police offer silent prayers to earthquake and tsunami victims before conducting a search for clues to people missing since 2011, on the shores of Watari in Miyagi prefecture, Japan, on March 10, 2021, the day before the 10th anniversary of the 9.0-magnitude earthquake which triggered a tsunami and nuclear disaster killing over 18,000 people. (KAZUHIRO NOGI / AFP)
The government has spent about US$300 billion (32.1 trillion yen) to rebuild the tsunami-devastated region, but areas around the Fukushima plant remain off-limits, worries about radiation levels linger and many who left have settled elsewhere.
Decommissioning of the crippled plant will take decades and billions of dollars.
Some 40,000 people are still displaced by the disaster.
Members of the Tomioka town fire brigade conduct operations to search for clues on people missing since the 2011 disasters, on the shores near the Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Plant in Tomioka, Fukushima prefectue, Japan, on March 11, 2021. (KAZUHIRO NOGI / AFP)
Japan is again debating the role of nuclear power in its energy mix as the resource-poor country aims to achieve net carbon neutrality by 2050 to fight global warming. But an NHK public TV survey showed 85 percent of the public worries about nuclear accidents.
READ MORE: Japan's green future requires returning to its nuclear past
The mass demonstrations against nuclear power seen in the wake of 3/11 have faded, but distrust lingers. Some anti-nuclear activists are planning demonstrations in front of the operator of the plant, Tokyo Electric Power, for Thursday night.
Only nine of Japan's 33 remaining commercial reactors have been approved for restarts under post-Fukushima safety standards and only four are operating, compared with 54 before the disaster.
Nuclear power supplied just 6 percent of Japan's energy needs in the first half of 2020 compared with 23.1 percent for renewable sources - far behind Germany's 46.3 percent - and nearly 70 percent for fossil fuels.
