:quality(85)//cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/DA2BRDSE4PPFJIY6FKERK5UUFE.jpg "Japan remembers tsunami and nuclear disaster on 12th anniversary 1")
TOKYO (AP) — Japan marked the 12th anniversary of the massive earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster with a minute of silence on Saturday, as concerns mounted over the expected release of treated radioactive water from the nuclear power plant. of Fukushima and the government’s bet for nuclear power.
The 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that devastated large parts of the country’s northeast coast on March 11, 2011 caused more than 22,000 deaths, of which some 3,700 occurred later from causes related to the disaster.
A minute of silence was observed across the country at 2:46 p.m., when the earthquake was recorded.
Some residents of the tsunami-hit northern Iwate and Miyagi prefectures came ashore to pray for their loved ones and the 2,519 people whose remains have never been found.
In Tomioka, one of the towns in Fukushima where the search was abandoned due to radiation, firefighters and police scoured the shore with sticks and hoes looking for any remains of the victims or their belongings.
At a primary school from Sendai to Miyagi, north of Fukushima, participants launched hundreds of colorful balloons in memory of the deceased.
In the capital Tokyo, dozens of people took part in a tribute in a downtown park and anti-nuclear activists staged a protest.
The earthquake and tsunami that struck the coastal Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant destroyed its power and cooling systems, causing three of its six reactors to melt, spewing massive amounts of radiation forcing tens of thousands of residents to evacuate.
