Franck Robichon / EPA

Two women cry after laying flowers where a house once stood in the tsunami devastated Yuriage district, Natori city, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, March 11. Japan marks the first anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake that killed almost 20,000 people.

Today, some 325,000 people rendered homeless remain in temporary housing. While much of the debris has been gathered into massive piles, very little rebuilding has begun.

"I wish I could go back to my old house and get back our normal life again," said Hyakuaiko Konno, a 64-year-old woman from the Ishinomaki coast who has been living in temporary housing for the past seven months.

-- Reported by msnbc.com news services

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