Japan Marks 9th Anniversary of March 2011 Disaster

Tokyo, March 11 (Jiji Press)--Japan marked the ninth anniversary of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami on Wednesday, with many family members of victims determined to pass on lessons from the catastrophe that hit mainly northeastern regions of the country. Many people gathered to offer flowers at Kamaishi Memorial Park in the city of Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture. At the park, a siren sounded to begin a moment of silence at 2:46 p.m. (5:46 a.m. GMT), exactly nine years from when the 9.0-magnitude quake struck on March 11, 2011. "Nine years seems a long time, yet it also seems like an instant," 19-year-old university student Saki Wada, who lost her mother in the tsunami, said. "I hope that my mother is watching over me." The park was constructed on the remains of a disaster prevention center, where many people lost their lives. The names of 1,001 people killed in the city adorn a cenotaph that stands at the center of the park. In the city of Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture, families of the 74 children and 10 faculty members of now-defunct Okawa Elementary School who were swept away by the tsunami gathered at the school site to offer prayers. Takahiro Shito, 55, who lost his daughter, Chisato, then in fifth grade, said that seeing the progress in the transformation of the area as part of postdisaster reconstruction makes him feel insecure. "I hope to continue passing on (the horrors of the disaster) so that people who visit can learn about the importance of life and disaster prevention," he said. Noriyuki Suzuki, 55, visited mountains behind the school to pray at 3:37 p.m., when the tsunami supposedly reached the area nine years ago. He laid flowers for his second daughter, Mai, who was in sixth grade when she was killed by the massive wave. Her body was found in the mountains. "Today is definitely not a turning point," he said. "My wish for people to come to Okawa Elementary School and learn deeply about the disaster will not change." A memorial ceremony held annually at the school by the bereaved family members was canceled this year due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus in the country. The school building has been designated as a disaster site, and work to preserve it will begin in April. In the Tairausuiso district in the city of Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, 66-year-old Yukiko Suzuki attended a memorial service for some 120 people who were killed in the disaster in the district. She said that she shows her eight-year-old grandchild, born after the disaster, and others videos of the district at the time of the tsunami. "I want to teach them about the horrors of nature and the importance of immediately evacuating when an earthquake comes," she said with tears in her eyes. In the town of Namie in Fukushima, 18 people including town officials and relatives of victims attended its memorial service. Some 120 people attend the event every year, but this year's ceremony was closed to the general public and shortened due to coronavirus concerns. "It was too painful a parting," 80-year-old Morihisa Kanoya, who represented the bereaved kin in the memorial service, said of his experience seeing his wife Hisako, 71, be swallowed up by the tsunami while evacuating together to higher ground. "My sadness has yet to heal." On the smaller scale of the ceremony this year, Kanoya said, "It can't be helped, considering the situation in society." The ceremony held in the city of Fukushima by the Fukushima prefectural government was also scaled back this year, down to just five participants from roughly 400 last year. "Many issues persist, such as the rebuilding of disaster victims' lives and the effects of unfounded rumors," Fukushima Governor Masao Uchibori said at the event, which was streamed live online. "I pledge to continue pushing to create a brighter future." The prefecture is home to Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s <9501> Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, which suffered heavy damage from the tsunami resulting in an unprecedented triple reactor meltdown. Concerns over the spread of the new coronavirus led to the cancellations of memorial services in the city of Sendai, the capital of Miyagi, and other municipalities, while the town of Otsuchi in Iwate decided to postpone its memorial ceremony. Some municipalities chose to call off ceremonies, but instead set up altars for laying flowers. END