To use this site, please disable the ad blocking feature and reload the page.
This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content, and analyzing our website traffic. By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies.
Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
The Yomiuri Shimbun People visit a floral tribute stand in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, on Tuesday morning.The Yomiuri Shimbun A man makes a silent prayer on Tuesday in a park overlooking the Akasakicho district of Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, which was burned by a wildfire that started in late February.
The Yomiuri Shimbun
15:51 JST, March 11, 2025
Prayers and flowers were offered at cenotaphs Tuesday, the day the Great East Japan Earthquake struck 14 years ago.
Office worker Haruki Chiba placed flowers on a stand at Takatamatsubara Memorial Park for Tsunami Disaster in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture.
Chiba lost his uncle and a high school friend to the tsunami caused by the earthquake. He goes to the park every year to remember them, he said.
March 11 is Chiba’s own birthday, but “all I can think about on that day is the disaster. I only notice that I’ve gotten older in the evening.”
Three employees of the fire department in Tendo, Yamagata Prefecture, also came to the floral tribute stand. They fought the large wildfire in neighboring Ofunato, which burned the surrounding areas for more than 10 days. It was announced on Sunday that the fire had been contained.
“I hope we can help this community through our firefighting activities,” one of the employees said.
A woman prays at a tsunami-ravaged building formerly used as the disaster prevention countermeasures office in Minami-Sanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, on Tuesday.
A man prays for his brother, who was killed by the tsunami, on a ship off Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, on Tuesday.
The “miracle pine tree” that survived the tsunami is seen standing in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, on Tuesday morning.
