JAPAN MOURNS 22,000 VICTIMS OF FUKUSHIMA QUAKE, TSUNAMI 10 YRS AGO

Tears, prayers and a resolve to pass on lessons learned swept Japan on Thursday, March 11, 2021, as the country marked 10 years since a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated its northeastern coast, with services held in the hardest-hit areas and Tokyo to mourn the more than 22,000 lives lost and unaccounted for, Donican Lam reported for Kyodo News.

People across the nation observed a moment of silence at 2:46 p.m., exactly a decade after the Great East Japan Quake shook eastern and northeastern Japan, particularly Fukushima, Iwate and Miyagi prefectures, triggering a tsunami and the world's worst nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl crisis in 1986.

Ten years on, the disaster has forced energy-poor Japan to re-examine the role of nuclear power and disaster prevention measures. While key infrastructure such as roads, train lines, and housing has been rebuilt, around 41,000 people -- down from a peak of 470,000 -- have yet to return to their hometowns since the quake, and concerns linger over the disposal of treated radioactive water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The magnitude-9.0 quake and ensuing tsunami left 15,900 people dead and 2,525 missing, according to the latest figures from the National Police Agency and local police in the disaster-hit areas. Those who died later from issues related to the disaster such as illness and stress-induced suicide totaled 3,775.

The decommissioning of the crippled Fukushima plant is becoming increasingly challenging, with doubts remaining over whether its operator can meet its time frame of between 2041 and 2051 in the face of numerous technical issues. Hundreds of tons of melted fuel debris need to be extracted, and there is also the need to tackle disposing water contaminated with low-toxicity radioactive tritium.

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