Fukushima commemorated - 17th March 2021

On 11th March, 2021 at 2.46pm, a respectful hush fell over Japan to commemorate the disaster which had struck precisely one decade earlier, when a 9.0 magnitude earthquake ruthlessly devastated low-lying northeastern coastal regions.

The most powerful quake in living memory and the ensuing deadly tsunami had sparked a major meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

With a variety of commemorative events conducted nationwide, wreaths were laid at final resting places and poignant messages to loved ones cast into the waves.

Tomoi Ogi was among those paying their respects.

Tomoi Ogi: "I don’t know why, but I felt a lot more emotional this morning than I was at each of the past anniversaries. Maybe I’m getting old. I woke up and watched TV, and then I was thinking to myself: 'Oh, it has been really 10 years.' It feels long, but it also feels short."

Fatalities in 2011 numbered 15,899, most victims being engulfed by the ferocious surge of water. A decade on, the quest to locate and identify 2,525 still lost is ongoing, and only last week, the remains of one woman were finally laid to rest.

The Fukushima reactor meltdown spewed toxic radioactive contaminants across the local environment, leaving thousands more people evacuated and without shelter. To this day, no-go zones persist, affecting over 40,000 residents who are barred from their homes.

10 years on, many coastal regions have become considerably better equipped to survive future catastrophes. Coastal barriers have been constructed to shield residential areas, while evacuation precautions have been developed and fine-tuned in a country where natural disasters, be they typhoons or earthquakes, are commonplace.

With the bulk of Japan’s nuclear plants decommissioned, debates remain over how to finalise the cleanup procedures at the deserted Fukushima site.