Photo gallery: Japan marks second tsunami anniversary
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Yoko Yasuda (centre), offers flowers where her parents' house used to stand in Rikuzentakata, Iwate prefecture, northern Japan Sunday, March 10, 2013. Yasuda lost her parents and brother in the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Japan marks the second anniversary of the disaster on Monday. -- PHOTO: AP
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Greenpeace activists light candles to mourn victims of the Fukushima earthquake and tsunami in downtown Bucharest, March 10, 2013, a day before the second-year anniversary of the disaster that killed thousands and set off a nuclear crisis. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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A Greenpeace activist lights candles to mourn victims of the Fukushima earthquake and tsunami in downtown Bucharest, March 10, 2013, a day before the second-year anniversary of the disaster that killed thousands and set off a nuclear crisis. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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Residents pray in front of a memorial for the victims of the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami as they make a brief visit to a caution zone in Namie, Fukushima prefecture, northern Japan Sunday, March 10, 2013. Japan marks the second anniversary of the disaster on Monday. -- FILE PHOTO: AP
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Pictures found in the debris of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disasters are on display at the Tsukidate elementary school in Kesennuma, Miyagi prefecture on March 10, 2013. March 11, 2013 marks the second anniversary of the 9.0 magnitude earthquake that sent a huge wall of water into the coast of the Tohoku region, splintering whole communities, ruining swathes of prime farmland and killing nearly 19,000 people. -- PHOTO: AFP
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Images of Buddha stand at the desolate cemetery of the tsunami-hit Tozenji temple at Yuriage district in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, on March 10, 2013, one day before the second anniversary of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster. Japan commemorates the second anniversary of a 9.0 magnitude offshore earthquake and giant tsunami that killed 15,880 people and left 2,694 unaccounted for, mainly in the Pacific coastline of the tohoku region in the nation's north-east. -- PHOTO: AFP
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A boy prays for the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami victims after offering a flower in Otsuchi, Iwate prefecture, northern Japan, Sunday, March 10, 2013. Japan marks the second anniversary of the disaster on Monday. -- PHOTO: AP
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People join hands to pray for the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami victims and for recovery in front of the sea at dawn in Iwaki, Fukushima prefecture, northern Japan, Sunday, March 10, 2013. Japan marks the second anniversary of the disaster on Monday. -- PHOTO: AP
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A woman prays at the place where her house used to stand as a fishing boat washed ashore during the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami sits in the background, in Kesennuma, Miyagi prefecture, northern Japan Sunday, March 10, 2013. Japan marks the second anniversary of the disaster on Monday. -- PHOTO: AP
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Attendees pray for the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami victims during a memorial service at Okawa Elementary School where 84 students and teachers were killed or went missing in the disaster, in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture, northern Japan Sunday, March 10, 2013. Japan marks the second anniversary of the disaster on Monday. -- PHOTO: AP
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Visitors walk through tsunami-stricken area where demolition of a ruined building still continues in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, northern Japan, Sunday, March 10, 2013. On Monday, Japan marks the second anniversary of the disaster which killed over 15,000 people. -- PHOTO: AP
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People offer prayers during a memorial service honouring victims of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, a day before the second anniversary of the disaster in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, northern Japan, Sunday, March 10, 2013. Over 15,000 people were killed in the disaster. -- PHOTO: AP
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The sun sets behind the wrecked Disaster Control Center where 42 people were killed by the March 11, 2011 tsunami, in Minamisanriku, Miyagi prefecture, Sunday, March 10, 2013. Japan marks the second anniversary of the disaster on Monday. -- PHOTO: AP
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A family offers prayers at the wrecked Disaster Control Centre where 42 people were killed by the March 11, 2011 tsunami, in Minamisanriku, Miyagi prefecture, Sunday, March 10, 2013. Japan marks the second anniversary of the disaster on Monday. -- PHOTO: AP
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A family visits the place where their house was swept away by the tsunami a day before the second anniversary of the disaster in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, northern Japan, Sunday, March 10, 2013. The earthquake and tsunami killed over 15,000 people in eastern Japan. -- PHOTO: AP
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Ms Shigeko Hatakeyama, 77, looks for her family's photos among those corrected out of the debris caused by the earthquake and tsunami in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, northern Japan, Sunday, March 10, 2013. Japan marks the second anniversary of the disaster on Monday. -- PHOTO: AP
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A young woman lights candles for tsunami victims at Yuriage Junior Hight School in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, on March 10, 2013, one day before the second anniversary of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster. Japan commemorate the second anniversary of a 9.0 magnitude offshore earthquake and giant tsunami that killed 15,880 people and left 2,694 unaccounted for, mainly in the Pacific coastline of the tohoku region in the nation's north-east. -- PHOTO: AFP
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A visitor lights a candle to remember the victims of the March 11, 2011 tsunami and earthquake, in Tokyo, March 10, 2013. Thousands of protesters marched in the Japanese capital on Sunday calling on the government to shun nuclear power, a day before the second anniversary of an earthquake and tsunami that triggered the world's worst atomic disaster in 25 years. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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People join hands facing the sea to mourn victims of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture March 10, 2013, a day before the second-year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands and set off a nuclear crisis. With a minute of silence, tolling bells and prayers, Japan will on Monday mark the second-year anniversary of an earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands and set off a nuclear crisis that shattered public trust in atomic power and the nation's leaders. -- PHOTO: REUTERS/KYODO
Yoko Yasuda (centre), offers flowers where her parents' house used to stand in Rikuzentakata, Iwate prefecture, northern Japan Sunday, March 10, 2013. Yasuda lost her parents and brother in the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Japan marks the second anniversary of the disaster on Monday. -- PHOTO: AP
Greenpeace activists light candles to mourn victims of the Fukushima earthquake and tsunami in downtown Bucharest, March 10, 2013, a day before the second-year anniversary of the disaster that killed thousands and set off a nuclear crisis. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
A Greenpeace activist lights candles to mourn victims of the Fukushima earthquake and tsunami in downtown Bucharest, March 10, 2013, a day before the second-year anniversary of the disaster that killed thousands and set off a nuclear crisis. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
Residents pray in front of a memorial for the victims of the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami as they make a brief visit to a caution zone in Namie, Fukushima prefecture, northern Japan Sunday, March 10, 2013. Japan marks the second anniversary of the disaster on Monday. -- FILE PHOTO: AP
Pictures found in the debris of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disasters are on display at the Tsukidate elementary school in Kesennuma, Miyagi prefecture on March 10, 2013. March 11, 2013 marks the second anniversary of the 9.0 magnitude earthquake that sent a huge wall of water into the coast of the Tohoku region, splintering whole communities, ruining swathes of prime farmland and killing nearly 19,000 people. -- PHOTO: AFP
Images of Buddha stand at the desolate cemetery of the tsunami-hit Tozenji temple at Yuriage district in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, on March 10, 2013, one day before the second anniversary of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster. Japan commemorates the second anniversary of a 9.0 magnitude offshore earthquake and giant tsunami that killed 15,880 people and left 2,694 unaccounted for, mainly in the Pacific coastline of the tohoku region in the nation's north-east. -- PHOTO: AFP
A boy prays for the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami victims after offering a flower in Otsuchi, Iwate prefecture, northern Japan, Sunday, March 10, 2013. Japan marks the second anniversary of the disaster on Monday. -- PHOTO: AP
People join hands to pray for the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami victims and for recovery in front of the sea at dawn in Iwaki, Fukushima prefecture, northern Japan, Sunday, March 10, 2013. Japan marks the second anniversary of the disaster on Monday. -- PHOTO: AP
A woman prays at the place where her house used to stand as a fishing boat washed ashore during the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami sits in the background, in Kesennuma, Miyagi prefecture, northern Japan Sunday, March 10, 2013. Japan marks the second anniversary of the disaster on Monday. -- PHOTO: AP
Attendees pray for the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami victims during a memorial service at Okawa Elementary School where 84 students and teachers were killed or went missing in the disaster, in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture, northern Japan Sunday, March 10, 2013. Japan marks the second anniversary of the disaster on Monday. -- PHOTO: AP
Visitors walk through tsunami-stricken area where demolition of a ruined building still continues in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, northern Japan, Sunday, March 10, 2013. On Monday, Japan marks the second anniversary of the disaster which killed over 15,000 people. -- PHOTO: AP
People offer prayers during a memorial service honouring victims of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, a day before the second anniversary of the disaster in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, northern Japan, Sunday, March 10, 2013. Over 15,000 people were killed in the disaster. -- PHOTO: AP
The sun sets behind the wrecked Disaster Control Center where 42 people were killed by the March 11, 2011 tsunami, in Minamisanriku, Miyagi prefecture, Sunday, March 10, 2013. Japan marks the second anniversary of the disaster on Monday. -- PHOTO: AP
A family offers prayers at the wrecked Disaster Control Centre where 42 people were killed by the March 11, 2011 tsunami, in Minamisanriku, Miyagi prefecture, Sunday, March 10, 2013. Japan marks the second anniversary of the disaster on Monday. -- PHOTO: AP
A family visits the place where their house was swept away by the tsunami a day before the second anniversary of the disaster in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, northern Japan, Sunday, March 10, 2013. The earthquake and tsunami killed over 15,000 people in eastern Japan. -- PHOTO: AP
Ms Shigeko Hatakeyama, 77, looks for her family's photos among those corrected out of the debris caused by the earthquake and tsunami in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, northern Japan, Sunday, March 10, 2013. Japan marks the second anniversary of the disaster on Monday. -- PHOTO: AP
A young woman lights candles for tsunami victims at Yuriage Junior Hight School in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, on March 10, 2013, one day before the second anniversary of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster. Japan commemorate the second anniversary of a 9.0 magnitude offshore earthquake and giant tsunami that killed 15,880 people and left 2,694 unaccounted for, mainly in the Pacific coastline of the tohoku region in the nation's north-east. -- PHOTO: AFP
A visitor lights a candle to remember the victims of the March 11, 2011 tsunami and earthquake, in Tokyo, March 10, 2013. Thousands of protesters marched in the Japanese capital on Sunday calling on the government to shun nuclear power, a day before the second anniversary of an earthquake and tsunami that triggered the world's worst atomic disaster in 25 years. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
People join hands facing the sea to mourn victims of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture March 10, 2013, a day before the second-year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands and set off a nuclear crisis. With a minute of silence, tolling bells and prayers, Japan will on Monday mark the second-year anniversary of an earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands and set off a nuclear crisis that shattered public trust in atomic power and the nation's leaders. -- PHOTO: REUTERS/KYODO
ISHINOMAKI, Japan (AFP) - People all over Japan bowed their heads in silence on Monday as they remembered the almost 19,000 who died when a ferocious tsunami surged ashore two years earlier.
Ceremonies were held in towns and cities throughout the disaster zone, as well as in Tokyo, where Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko led tributes to those who lost their lives in a disaster that also sparked a nuclear emergency.
As a mournful quiet descended, cold winds blew through the grounds of Okawa Elementary School, in Ishinomaki, where at least 70 children were swept to their deaths by the rising waters of March 11, 2011.
The city’s tsunami alarms were sounded at 2.46pm (1.46pm Singapore time), marking the exact moment a 9.0-magnitude undersea quake hit, sending a massive tsunami barreling into Japan’s north-east coast.
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