Japan celebrates 10 years of Fukushima

A resident throws leaves into the sea, carrying messages to loved ones, in Soma, Fukushima, Japan.

An artist performs a dance on the beach to commemorate the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2021, in Iwaki, Fukushima.

Buddhist monks pray for the victims of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami on a beach on March 11, 2021, in Iwaki, Japan.

Takao Fujisaki, whose daughter and grandson died in the 2011 tsunami, prays in front of the tomb on March 11, 2021, in Namie, Japan.

Emperor Naruhito of Japan, accompanied by Empress Masako, makes his speech in front of the altar for the victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami as they participate in the national memorial service that marks the 10th anniversary of the disaster in Tokyo, March 11 2021.

Left: a combined photo shows smoke (above) rising in an area in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on March 12, 2011, the day after the earthquake and tsunami, and the same area on February 12, 2021 Right: An area devastated by the tsunami (top) in Minamisanriku, Miyagi, northeastern Japan, pictured from a helicopter on March 13, 2011, and a memorial park created in the same area (bottom).

Mariko Odawara holds flowers while praying in mourning for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands of people and unleashed the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl, on its 10th anniversary, in Iwaki, Fukushima, March 11, 2021.

Paper lanterns are lit in mourning for the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, on March 11, 2021.

Burning candles form characters that say “memory” and “connecting the future” at the Great Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum in the city of Futaba, Fukushima, on March 10, 2021, the eve of the 10th anniversary.

The event team launches a traditional Japanese kite, with messages from children living in Fukushima with their dreams and hope, at the Great Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum in the city of Futaba, Fukushima, on March 10, 2021 .

A Buddhist monk prays for the victims of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami on a beach on March 11, 2021, in Iwaki, Japan.

A man searches for the remains of people missing after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2021, in Iwaki, Japan.

People pray in Hirono, Fukushima, at 2:46 pm on March 11, 2021, when the great earthquake struck northeast Japan exactly 10 years ago.

Balloons are launched to mark the 10th anniversary of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2021, in Ishinomaki, Japan.

A priest prays at the former sanctuary site in the city of Futaba in northeastern Japan, devastated by the tsunami in Fukushima, in memory of his victims on March 11, 2021.

A woman deposits flowers on a beach in the city of Iwaki in northeastern Japan, devastated by the tsunami in Fukushima Prefecture.

People drop balloons attaching messages to mark the 10-year anniversary of the disaster that killed thousands and unleashed a nuclear crisis in Natori, Miyagi, Japan.

Flowers for the victims of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami are placed on a beach on March 11, 2021, in Iwaki, Japan.

Local residents drop lanterns for earthquake and tsunami victims in Koriyama, Fukushima, on March 11, 2021.