JAPAN
The Scabs
Japan on Thursday marked the 10th anniversary of the triple catastrophe that crippled its northeastern region, killed thousands of people, caused a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and left many survivors trying to piece their lives together a decade later, NBC News reported.
Many Japanese headed to the coast Thursday carrying bouquets or visited graves to pray, while others took part in anti-nuclear protests to mark the anniversary. Meanwhile, Japanese Emperor Naruhito and his wife attended an event in Tokyo along with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to mark the anniversary.
On March 11, 2011, Japan was hit by a 9.0 magnitude quake – the strongest in the country’s history – which caused a tsunami that leveled towns and resulted in the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, in Ukraine, decades earlier
More than 20,000 people are believed to have died and nearly half a million were displaced.
Since 2011, the Japanese government has spent about $300 billion to rebuild the region but it will take decades and more funding to properly decommission the nuclear plant.
Meanwhile, 40,000 remain displaced from the disaster due to the radiation that lingers.
In a show of rebirth, Fukushima was supposed to host a part of the Summer Olympics scheduled to take place in Japan in 2020. The Games were delayed until July due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Suga hopes that the Olympics will mark Japan’s recovery from the disaster.
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