Japan on Friday commemorated the fifth anniversary of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that left more than 18,000 dead or missing in 2011. The country observed a minute’s silence at 2.46 pm, the time the 9.0-magnitude quake struck. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Emperor Akihito offered flowers at a memorial ceremony in Tokyo.
The tsunami cut power supply to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, triggering one of the world’s worst nuclear disasters since the 1986 Chernobyl incident. The radiation leak that ensued forced the evacuation of more than 160,000 people. The disaster was followed by anti-nuclear protests, with scores of people unable to return to their homes despite extensive decontamination work.
This is how the day is being marked around the country:
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