Japan marks fifth anniversary of devastating earthquake and Tsunami that killed thousands

Japan is marking the fifth anniversary of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that left more than 18,000 people dead or missing.

At 2.46pm local time (5.46am), the moment the quake hit, bells rang out across Tokyo and people around the nation bowed their heads in a moment of silence.

Emperor Akihito and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe led a ceremony attended by 12,000 people, bowing in front of a stage laden with white and yellow flowers.

It included survivors from the northeast coastal region of the country, which was virtually wiped out by the tsunami.

A total of 15,894 people are confirmed to have died in the disaster, with 2,562 more unaccounted for. Another 340,000 people were displaced from their homes.

Figures released last year revealed that some 170,000 people remain stuck in temporary accommodation along the worst hit parts of the coast.

The earthquake also triggered the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986, crippling the Fukushima nuclear plant.

Meltdowns in three reactors leaked radiation over a wide area of the countryside, contaminating water, food and air.

Some areas remain no-go zones due to high radiation.

The nine-magnitude quake struck offshore,creating a tsunami that swept across the coastline.Naoto Kan, the Prime Minister at the time, has said he feared he would have to evacuate Tokyo and that Japan's very existence could have been in peril.

The current Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe said the five years had been days of hardship and pain for those affected by the disaster, but he has promised enough money to help people in the worst-hit areas rebuild their lives.

[sky news] 

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