Fukushima: Japan marks anniversary of nuclear disaster

Japan is marking the 10th anniversary Thursday of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear accident that hit the northeastern region, where many orphans' lives are still on hold.People, some carrying bouquets, walked to the coast or tombs to pray for relatives and friends washed away by the tsunami. Emperor Naruhito and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga are scheduled to see a moment of silence at a memorial service later Thursday.READ MORE RECENT NEWS HEREThe magnitude 9.0 quake that came struck on March 11, 2011, was one of the biggest temblors on life and set off a huge tsunami that swept far inland, destroying towns and making meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. More than 18,000 people died, mostly in the tsunami, and nearly half a million people were removed.40,000 still displacedTen years following, more than 40,000 people are still weak to return home, most of them from Fukushima, where lots near the cut plant are still off-limits due to dangerous contamination.Roads, train lines, and other key support and housing have mostly been made at the cost of more than 30 trillion yen (€235 billion), but the land remains empty in coastal towns further north in Miyagi and Iwate prefectures, where current population losses were stimulated by the disaster.READ MORE RECENT NEWS HEREIn Otsuchi town in the Iwate area, where the tsunami smashed its town hall, killing about 40 employees, their families in dark suits found at an empty land where the city hall used to stand. In Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture, dozens of residents petitioned at a cenotaph bearing the names of more than 3,000 victims in town.