Japan Marks 2nd Anniversary of March 2011 Disaster

Tokyo, March 11 (Jiji Press)--Japan marked the second anniversary of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami at a government-sponsored memorial ceremony on Monday, offering prayers for nearly 16,000 people who died in the disaster and more than 2,600 who remain missing. Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, as well as representatives from the families of disaster victims, were among around 1,200 people who attended the ceremony at the National Theatre in Tokyo. The participants observed a minute of silence in honor of the victims at 2:46 p.m. (5:46 a.m. GMT), the time that the 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck off Japan's northeastern coast two years ago, unleashing the towering tsunami that set off the nation's worst-ever nuclear crisis. "We can dedicate ourselves to the souls of disaster victims by accelerating reconstruction efforts," Abe said. "I am resolved to promote nation building to strengthen Japan against natural disasters, based on the lessons of the disaster." With one newly confirmed dead, the disaster has killed 15,882 people in a total of 12 prefectures and left 2,668 others still unaccounted for in six prefectures, mainly in the three hardest hit prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima. At a news conference later on Monday, Abe said that by around summer the government will release a road map for returns home by evacuees from areas affected by the nuclear accident at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s <9501> stricken Fukushima No. 1 power plant. The road map will include when roads, water systems and medical services will be restored and when evacuees can restart their lives in their home areas, Abe said. He also said the central government will drastically simplify procedures to speed up work to relocate homes from tsunami-hit low-lying areas to higher ground. At the memorial ceremony, Emperor Akihito said, "The damage caused by the tsunami has taught us the importance of regular evacuation drills and education to prevent damage from tsunami." "It is important for us to never forget what we learned and hand down the lesson to future generations," he said. The Emperor also said he hopes that "regular drills and education are carried out so that the lives of as many people as possible will be saved in the case of future disasters." Among the representatives of the families of victims, Rin Yamane, 18, from Iwate Prefecture who lost her mother to the tsunami, said, "Our young generations will make memories of the disaster lead to a better future." The ceremony was also attended by lawmakers of the Diet, Japan's parliament, representatives from local governments and ambassadors from other countries, including U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos.