WORLD
Japan marks 11th anniversary of quake disaster, Fukushima crisis
Baku, March 11, AZERTAC
Japan on Friday marked the 11th anniversary of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster that devastated its northeastern region in 2011, with evacuation orders in more parts of areas contaminated by the Fukushima nuclear crisis expected to be lifted later this year, according to Kyodo News.
Infrastructure in the hard-hit areas has largely been rebuilt, but some 38,000 people remain displaced due mainly to the world's worst nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
Residents in the severely affected prefectures of Fukushima, Iwate and Miyagi observed a moment of silence at 2:46 p.m., when the massive quake struck the region more than a decade ago and prayed for those who lost their lives.
As the central government no longer hosts a memorial service, municipalities in the affected northeastern areas of the Tohoku region held theirs on a smaller scale, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attending a ceremony held in the city of Fukushima.