The people of Japan fell silent in prayer yesterday, six months after an earthquake and tsunami left 20,000 dead or missing and sparked a nuclear crisis.
At 2:46pm, the eerie wail of warning sirens rang out, marking exactly six months since the magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck, unleashing towering waves that swallowed whole communities.
In towns along the devastated Pacific coastline, mourners gathered to remember the dead, while in Tokyo anti-nuclear rallies were held over the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant crisis — the worst nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
In the coastal town of Minamisanriku, where 900 people were killed and 60 percent of the buildings were destroyed, about 2,000 people dressed in black gathered at a public gymnasium to observe a moment’s silence.
“We never give up hope and vow to unite as one in building a new town so that we can make up for the sacrifice of precious lives of many people,” Minamisanriku Mayor Jin Sato said during the remembrance service.
The March 11 quake struck 130km offshore and sent giant waves along a 600km stretch of the scenic northeast coast.
The disaster also crippled cooling systems and sparked meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, about 220km northeast of Tokyo, forcing tens of thousands to evacuate. Many still have no idea when they can return home.
“The most difficult thing is that I have lost my job and it is hard to work out plans for my children,” Takahiro Murakami, 35, said in Minamisanriku. “The biggest shock was to see my town disappear.”
In the major fishing port of Ishinomaki, where 4,000 people lost their lives in the tsunami, people gathered on a hill overlooking the town below where mounds of debris and wrecked vehicles littered the waterfront.
As the sirens wailed out, they folded their hands and prayed.
Meanwhile, about 1,000 people, including many families, marched through the trendy Tokyo streets of Shibuya. Children held placards that read: “No Nukes.” Two similar major anti-nuclear rallies were being staged in the capital, including the formation of a human chain around the Japanese economic and trade ministry, which is responsible for nuclear power.
The six-month anniversary came amid embarrassment for Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s new government after Japanese economic and trade minister Yoshio Hachiro resigned on Saturday over remarks deemed insensitive to Fukushima evacuees.
After touring the stricken Fukushima plant and the no-go zone with Noda on Thursday, Hachiro sparked fierce criticism by referring to the plant’s neighborhood as a “town of death.”
Noda held a meeting with his ministers on post-disaster reconstruction yesterday and apologized for Hachiro’s gaffe after observing a minute’s silence.
“Our struggle with the Fukushima accident is only half done,” Noda said. “Without solving the accident, Japan cannot regain [international] trust.”
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