Allen Pleus / Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife via AP
A striped beakfish swims in a water-filled well or bait box, March 22, aboard a 20-foot-long Japanese boat that washed ashore recently at Long Beach, Wash. Biologists say five of the fish, plus other Japanese species of sea creatures, arrived alive, apparently hitching a ride across the Pacific Ocean on debris believed to have come from the March 2011 Japanese tsunami.
Read more from KING 5: Fish found in tsunami debris on display at Seaside Aquarium
Toshifumi Kitamura / AFP - Getty Images
Police officers search for tsunami victims at a mud-covered field near the Okawa elementary school in Ishinomaki city, Miyagi prefecture, on March 11, 2013.
Yoshikazu Tsuno / AFP - Getty Images
A police officer searches for missing people in a wrecked vehicle at a beach in Namie, near the striken Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, on March 11, 2013.
Kyodo via Reuters
A man prays to mourn victims of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami as a ship brought ashore by the disaster is seen in the background, in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, on March 11, 2013.
The 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster that struck Japan is remembered across the country with memorial services and protests. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
By Arata Yamamoto, Producer, NBC News
TOKYO -- Japan marked the second anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that swept through northern Japan, damaging more than one million homes and killing almost 19,000 people.
A moment of silence was observed at 2:46 p.m. local time on Monday at various locations where the scars of the disasters still remain.
While most of the debris has been cleared, progress has been extremely slow in redeveloping areas affected following the tsunami-triggered explosion at Fukushima Daicihi nuclear power plant. Read the full story.
Shizuo Kambayashi / AP
Women take part in a moment of silence in front of what is left of a disaster control center in an area devastated by earthquake and tsunami, in Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, on March 11, 2013.
Kimimasa Mayama / EPA
Two women take a moment to offer a prayer for the victims killed by the tsunami on the sandy shore at Arahama in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, on March 11, 2013.
Kyodo News via AP
Two pictures of a so-called 'miracle pine tree', on March 27, 2011 (left) and March 11, 2013 (right). The 88-foot-tall tree, a single survivor among 70,000 trees in a forest along the coast in Rikuzentakata, Iwate prefecture, has been artificially restored in a project to preserve it.
An earthquake, a tsunami, a nuclear meltdown -- residents of Japan's northeast coast suffered through three intertwined disasters after a massive 9.0 magnitude temblor struck off the coast on March 11, 2011.
Related:
Rare tour of Fukushima reveals colossal decontamination efforts
Kyodo via Reuters
Four members of the Vienna Philharmonic play a Bach sonata on Mount Hiyori at Yuriage district in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, on November 2, 2012.
The commemorative performance took place in front of a monument honoring victims in an area severely damaged by Japan's March 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster.
Slideshow: Triple Tragedy for Japan
Slideshow: The tsunami, one year on
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Oregon Parks and Recreation / AFP - Getty Images
This handout photograph obtained courtesy of the Oregon Parks and Recreation (OPRD) and released June 7, 2012 shows a team of about a dozen staff and volunteers organized by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to remove marine organisms from the dock which landed on Agate Beach, Oregon.
Oregon Parks and Recreation via AP
This photo, taken by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department Thursday shows an invasive species commonly known as "wakame" attached to a dock float that washed up on Agate Beach Tuesday near Newport, Ore.
Miguel Llanos reports on msnbc.com's US News blog that the 66-foot dock is the largest debris to wash ashore in North America from the tsunami:
A check for any radiation from Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant came up negative, said Oregon Department of Parks and Recreation spokesman Chris Havel.
The department is overseeing efforts to remove the dock but hasn't decided yet whether to demolish it on site or have it towed off. "You can't preplan for stuff like this," Havel told msnbc.com.
A starfish native to Japan was found clutching to the structure, Havel said, adding that another concern is to keep out any nonnative species that might have hitched a ride on the dock.
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Oregon Parks and Recreation / AFP - Getty Images
This handout photograph obtained courtesy of the Oregon Parks and Recreation (OPRD) and released on Thursday shows a team member of about a dozen staff and volunteers organized by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to remove marine organisms from the dock which landed on Agate Beach, Oregon, after drifting at sea following the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Workers with shovels, rakes and other tools first scraped the structure clean, then briefly used low-pressure torches to sterilize the dock. The material was bagged and hauled up the beach well above the high tide line to store it temporarily.
Oregon Parks and Recreation / AP
This photo, taken by the Oregon Park and Recreations Department Thursday, June 7, 2012, shows exotic mussels attached to the dock.
When a large dock that broke away from a Japanese harbor after the tsunami and washed up on an Oregon beach, it brought along millions of organisms. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.
Peter Mark / The Canadian Press via AP
The Vancouver Sun reports: A Langford motorcycle dealer is helping to return a Harley-Davidson motorcycle to its owner in Japan after it was washed out to sea by last year's tsunami and ended up on B.C.'s northwest coast. With the subsequent news that the owner had been found, the bike is to be taken to the dealer's shop and packed for shipping to Japan in its rusted state. Harley-Davidson has offered to restore the bike at one of its Japanese facilities so the owner can see the motorcycle before and after.
"I think it's going to be great that it actually goes back in its original condition. I think it's going to have a lot more meaning there," said Steve Drane, owner of the Langford dealership.
Related story:
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Handout photo / Department of National Defence
A Japanese fishing boat that was lost at sea after the 2011 tsunami has been found off the coast of B.C.
Vancouver Sun reports: VANCOUVER -- After being flushed out to sea by last year’s massive tsunami and earthquake, a Japanese squid-fishing boat has drifted across the Pacific Ocean and was about 120 nautical miles off British Columbia’s north coast Friday evening. The 150-foot ship was found drifting right-side-up about 140 nautical miles (260 km) from Cape Saint James, on the southern tip of Haida Gwaii.
“It’s been drifting across the Pacific for a year, so it’s pretty beat up,” said marine search coordinator Jeff Olsson of Victoria’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre.
A ship unmoored by the 2011 tsunami has arrived near British Columbia's north coast. NBC's Brian Williams reports.
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.
"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
Related content: Tsunami survivors in PhotoBlog
Slideshow: Then and now
Carlos Barria / Reuters
Remains from the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami in Ofunato and Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture.
A year after the magnitude 9 earthquake unleashed a wall of water that hit Japan's northeastern coast, killing nearly 16,000 and leaving nearly 3,300 unaccounted for, the country is still grappling with the human, economic and political costs.
Along the coast, police and coast guard officers, urged on by families of the missing, still search rivers and shores for remains even though the chances of finding any would appear remote. Without bodies, thousands of people are in a state of emotional and legal limbo.
-- Reported by msnbc.com news services
Related content: Tsunami survivors in PhotoBlog
Slideshow: Then and now
Carlos Barria / Reuters
Remains from the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami in Ofunato and Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture.
Carlos Barria / Reuters
Remains from the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami in Ofunato and Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture.
Kuni Takahashi for msnbc.com
Fumie Sato, 63, and her sister Hisae, 65, sit in front of a shrine to their younger sister, Yukie in Fumie's house in Minamisanriku, Japan on Feb 4, 2012.
Kuni Takahashi
Fumie Sato, 62, stands on remains the house where her mother and sister lived in MInamisanriku, Japan on March 31, 2011 after a massive earthquake and tsunami swept the house away.
Kuni Takahashi reports:
Fumie Sato, 63, and her sister Hisae, 65, still mourn their younger sister, Yukie who was killed when the tsunami swept over the Japanese coastal town of Minanisanriku on March 11, 2011, as she was trying to save her mother-in-law, who also died.
“I can’t stop blaming myself for not going with her when Yukie went down the hill to help her mother-in-law," Fumie Sato said. "My regret will never disappear. I just want to say that I am sorry when I see her in heaven.”
“I realized that there isn’t always a tomorrow. A few hours or even a few minutes from now, we could suddenly be gone. So I think we should live better but it’s hard…especially for the ones left behind in sorrow.”
The Satos found Yukie’s body five days after the tsunami virtually erased Minamisanriku, population 17,666, from the map, leaving 565 townspeople dead and 310 missing (as of Feb. 22). Fumie's house was spared because it was located on a hill, but both of her sisters’ homes were washed away.
“Yukie died in March in the snow, then spring came, then the summer,' she said. "Now it’s winter again. All buildings in town are gone and my family has changed but the seasons turn as usual as if nothing happened.”
Her older sister Hisae added, “When I saw the rice crop turned yellow last fall, I realized that the time has passed. Until then, it was always March 11th inside of me.”
Kuni Takahashi, a photojournalist based in Mumbai, returned to his native Japan in 2011 shortly after the earthquake and tsunami. He recently revisited some of the people he met there— as well as some of the people that msnbc.com profiled in its After the Wave series -- to find out how they were doing nearly a year after the devastating natural disaster.
Kuni Takahashi for msnbc.com
Photos of Yukie Sato at her sister's house in Minamisanriku, Japan on Feb 4, 2012. Yukie died after the tsunami struck the town on March 11, 2011 while she was trying to save her mother-in-law, who also died.
Kuni Takahashi for msnbc.com
A mountain of debris topped with snow in Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan on Feb 26, 2012.
DigitalGlobe
DigitalGlobe acquired this satellite image of Japan's Fukushima nuclear complex on Feb. 2, 2012, almost a year after the tsunami. Click here for larger version.
Satellite images tracked the catastrophic impact of Japan's magnitude-9.0 earthquake and tsunami on the Fukushima nuclear complex and other key sites, and now they're tracking the reconstruction.
To mark Sunday's anniversary of the disaster, DigitalGlobe is releasing pictures showing "before, during and after" views of the devastation. You can see the three views of Fukushima here — but you really should check out our interactive slideshow to get a better sense of the changes that have taken place over the past year at Fukushima and at the Port of Sendai, which was destroyed in the tsunami.
"I'm struck by the progress, by how efficient the Japanese have been in reconstructing their infrastructure," Steve Wood, vice president of DigitalGlobe's analysis center, told me today. "In less than a year they've been able to turn this port into an active, functioning component. That's significant, considering that a year ago there were shipping containers, fires and mud covering that entire area. ... And there are literally hundreds of examples of that up and down the coast."
In the hours, days and weeks after the March 11 quake, satellite operators funneled fresh imagery to disaster workers, relief groups, government agencies and private companies coping with the aftermath. "We saw everything from big industrial partners who wanted to see the status of their factories, to government agencies involved in the actual reconstruction," Wood said.
Japanese officials and the U.S. military used the images to figure out which places were best for setting up aid operations, while relief organizations scanned wide-scale maps to see which areas were most in need of help. In places where planes weren't allowed to fly, "we were effectively the only game in town" for that initial post-quake aerial imagery.
Today, satellite images provide an effective way to gauge how much progress is being made, through comparisons of the before-during-and-after views. "To communicate and explain that to people is really an important and powerful tool that I've seen evolve over the years," Wood said. Pictures from space were important in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean quake and tsunami, they're important for Japan, and they'll be important for current and future hotspots such as Syria.
During Japan's crisis, Wood's team at DigitalGlobe was working 24/7, and the weeks and months have sped by. "It's hard for me to believe it's been a year," Wood said. For some of us, Sunday's anniversary may seem like a turning point — but it's really just one more day in the timeline of Japan's reconstruction. These pictures remind us that the work is far from finished.
DigitalGlobe
A labeled version of the image from Feb. 2 shows the status of the four nuclear reactor buildings at the Fukushima plant.
DigitalGlobe
A satellite image from March 14, 2011, shows the ruined Fukushima nuclear complex during the height of the crisis. Click here for larger version.
DigitalGlobe
A satellite image from Nov. 21, 2004, shows the Fukushima complex long before the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Click here for larger version.
More about the Japan quake and tsunami:
Kuni Takahashi for msnbc.com
Katsushi Haga, 67, looks out window of his temporary house in Koizumi district of Kesennuma in Miyagi prefecture, Japan on Feb 27, 2012. The tsunami on March 11, 2011 flattened the district, destroying 266 of its 518 households and killed about 30 of its estimated 1,800 residents, including Haga's 87-year-old mother, Tomiko.
Kuni Takahashi for msnbc.com
Katsushi Haga relaxes in his temporary house as his wife, Eiko, cooks in the kitchen in the Koizumi district of Kesennuma in Miyagi prefecture, Japan on Feb 27, 2012.
Kyle Drubek for msnbc.com
Rice farmer Katsushi Haga looks at the wiped out town of Koizumi, Japan, from a nearby hillside on June 8, 2011.
Kuni Takahashi reports:
Rice farmer Katsushi Haga, 67, and his wife, Eiko, 61, live in a temporary house built by the local government in Koizumi, a district of Kesennuma in Miyagi prefecture.
“We are settling down and slowly getting comfortable for now,” Eiko Haga said. “On the other hand, we began realizing that there are many obstacles still ahead. The biggest concern is how will we rebuild our houses? We can’t stay in this temporary house forever.”
“Also, recovering the rice paddy is another issue. The local government (Kesennuma city) announced that they will try to clean up certain districts, but it’s a lot of work. First, you have to get rid of debris, then remove sand and grass and, lastly, remove the salt from the soil. If they can do it by June, we may be able to plant rice, but there are serious shortages of machines and tractors. I ordered a used tractor but it’s taking forever to get it.”
Last year, Katushi Haga was working with other leaders to move his community uphill, but that has not been progressing as he had hoped.
“Younger people formed a group named ‘Thinking about tomorrow’ to move the community up the hill but it’s not going as fast as expected,” he said. “Our community was one of the first to take action after the tsunami and it’s a bit disappointing to see that things haven’t moved fast. I suppose that people have jobs and it’s not easy to put all your time and effort into one issue. I don’t know the details because I am retired now and I’m letting the young ones dealing with it,” he said, laughing.
“There are a few problems under the local government (rebuilding) plan. They only allow a resident to have 100-tsubo (3,555 square feet) in the new plot. It’s enough for regular people but not for farmers like us. We need extra storage space for tools and tractors. Because of this, many farmers are reluctant to move forward.
Asked about the nuclear crisis in Fukushima, Eiko Haga said, “In a way, it’s far more serious in Fukushima. We are having tough time here but people in Fukushima are worse off. They can’t go back to their land for a long time.”
Her husband chimed in, “The government for such a long time kept telling us it’s safe, but look at what happened. There is always the possibility that another accident will happen again somewhere. What are they going to do? No one even took responsibility. It’s an issue of human lives.”
When we spoke to Katsushi last year, he said that no longer wanted a view of the ocean. How does he feel about it now?
“I still have strange feeling about the ocean,” he said. “Before the tsunami, the ocean wasn’t visible from the bridge near my house because of all the building around. Now everything has gone, including the bridge and you see the ocean right there. It was soothing to see the ocean before, but no more. I feel like a tsunami may occur again.”
Eiko Haga added, “Some fishermen said that they hate earthquakes but not the ocean. The ocean is not guilty. But we are farmers and aren’t tied to the ocean like they are.”
Katsuhi’s mother, Tomiko, 88, was killed in the tsunami, but her body wasn’t found until Jan. 18. It had been hidden under debris near a mountain. Katsushi said, “I often walked nearby. … It was a bit of surprise. We buried her on Feb. 12 and it was sort of a relief.”
Kuni Takahashi, a photojournalist based in Mumbai, returned to his native Japan in 2011 shortly after the earthquake and tsunami. He recently revisited some of the people he met there— as well as some of the people that msnbc.com profiled in its After the Wave series -- to find out how they were doing nearly a year after the devastating natural disaster.
Kuni Takahashi for msnbc.com
A photo of Katsushi Haga's mother, Tomiko, is placed at a shrine in Katsushi's temporary house in the Koizumi district of Kesennuma in Miyagi prefecture, Japan on Feb 27, 2012. Haga's 87-year-old mother perished when the tsunami struck their village in 2011.
Photo by Kuni Takahashi
Kuni Takahashi for msnbc.com
Katsushi Haga sips a cup of tea with his wife, Eiko at their temporary house in Koizumi district of Kesennuma in Miyagi prefecture, Japan on Feb 27, 2012.
Kuni Takahashi for msnbc.com
Koya Takahashi, left, and his wife, Megumi, play with their son, Nagato at their house in Minamisanriku, Miyagi prefecture, Japan, Feb 26, 2012. Nagato was born six days after the massive earthquake and tsunami hit northern Japan on March 11, 2011, sweeping away many coastal towns including Minamisanriku.
Jim Seida / msnbc.com
Koya Takahashi, his wife Megumi and their three-month-old baby, Nagato, on June 13, 2011.
Kuni Takahashi for msnbc.com
Megumi Takahashi, left, and her husband, Koya, and their son, Nagato on Feb 26, 2012.
Kuni Takahashi reports:
Koya Takahashi and his wife, Megumi, were expecting their first child in Minamisanriku, Japan, on March 11, 2011, the day the tsunami struck. Their son, Nagato, wasn’t born until five days later, after Megumi was flown to a Red Cross hospital in nearby Ishinomaki. Following his birth, they moved to Megumi’s parents’ house in Iriya, about 3 miles uphill from their house, which was not damaged but had no water or electricity for some time.
“The difficulties we faced were the lack of water and electricity and that the hospital was more than an hour away by car,” Megumi said. “At night, I was using small solar-powered flashlight from an NGO to make milk and feed Nagato. Also, every day there were so many after-shocks and it was quite scary.”
But in those early days, there was help. “There were many things that I didn’t know because it was my first baby,” said Megumi. “Volunteer nurses from all over Japan came to the area, providing assistance. It was very helpful -- materially and mentally.”
Koya, who worked as a truck driver, lost his job after the tsunami because so many trucks were swept away. He eventually got a job at a construction site, but then broke his ankle. Since his recovery, he has been working as a dump truck driver, hauling debris from towns affected by the disaster. In August, they were able to move back into their home after services were restored.
“Too many things happened last year,” Koya said. “Having a baby is one big change, but the job situation has been tough. I was carrying debris out of my town and it slowly became very stressful. Especially when I found some children’s toys and clothes in debris. It was very difficult for me. I felt more sensitive to the things like that after becoming a father.”
“Over the time, the stress built up and I became mentally unstable,” he said. “I often quarreled with my wife. It was getting harder so I quit that job and got another one driving in Ishinomaki (about 30 miles away). I still drive in the disaster-affected areas, but at least it’s not my hometown.”
“As a father, my priority is to feed my family. No matter what, I have to keep working and earning,” he continued. “Since I commute a longer distance now, I have less time to see my son. I try to play with him as much as possible when I have time. We try to go shopping together every Sunday.”
Looking to the future, Koya said, “I would like to raise my son here in Minamisanriku, but I have concerns as well. Because of the tsunami, communities are broken and lots of families have moved out. The town’s population has been decreasing and the number of children in school is far less than before. We are worried that whether there will be enough schools, teachers and friends for my son in five or 10 years.”
“To be honest, sometimes I feel down, but I regain my energy when I see my son’s face. His smile makes me stronger and stronger. He is a strong kid because he was born in such a difficult time.”
Kuni Takahashi for msnbc.com
Koya Takahashi, his wife, Megumi and their son, Nagato, look out the window of their house in Minamisanriku, Feb 26, 2012.
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