Hundreds of residents of Fukushima hold a candlelight ceremony to mark the first anniversary of the massive earthquake and tsunami. Deborah Gembara reports.
PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has praised the Japanese people for their courage in rebuilding their lives after the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit one year ago.
On March 11 last year, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake off Japan's northeast coast triggered a tsunami that hit land less than an hour later.
It destroyed towns and villages, killing around 19,000 people and sparking a nuclear emergency at Fukushima.
"This is a day of painful memories for the Japanese people and on behalf of all Australians, I express my heartfelt condolences to those who lost loved ones in this terrible tragedy," Ms Gillard said in a statement on Sunday.
Ms Gillard reflected on her trip to Japan shortly after the natural disasters.
"As the first foreign leader to visit the disaster zone, I saw the appalling scale of damage for myself in the coastal community of Minami Sanriku, a whole town washed away with devastating loss of life," she said.
"I will never forget these scenes of unimaginable destruction and loss."
The stoicism shown by the Japanese people as they sought to recover and rebuild were images Ms Gillard would never forget.
"Their courage and resilience has resonated deeply in Australian hearts," Ms Gillard said.
The prime minister also paid tribute to Australia's "generous and compassionate" response, including the efforts of Australian emergency workers such as the Urban and Rescue Team in the Miyagi region of Japan and the donations from millions of Australians.
Australia's ambassador to Japan, Bruce Miller, will represent Australia at the national memorial service in Tokyo, which will be attended by the Emperor and Empress of Japan.
The vice chief of the defence force, Air Marshal Mark Binskin and Rob McNeil, chief superintendent of the NSW fire brigade, will represent Australia at the memorial service in Minami Sanriku.
Japan remembers
At 2.46pm (4.46pm AEDT) trains will stop, shoppers will stand still and people throughout the archipelago will fall silent to mark the exact moment nature's fury was visited on the nation, when the 9.0-magnitude quake set off a catastrophic chain of events.
A national ceremony of remembrance in Tokyo will see the prime minister and the emperor leading silent prayers for those who lost their lives in the country's worst post-war disaster.
Small rural towns along the coast that were turned to matchwood when the tsunami rolled in, smashing whole neighbourhoods and wiping out communities, were set to hold their own emotional ceremonies.
In Ishinomaki, the families of some of those who died were due to visit graves, where they would be leaving flowers in memory of lost loved ones.
Keishitsu Ito said that Sunday would be an intensely sad day for him.
"My wife was washed away by the tsunami. I will put these flowers on her grave," the 80-year-old told AFP.
"I am sad. I have no one to talk to anymore... or to argue with."
In Fukushima and the nearby city of Koriyama, tens of thousands of people were expected to gather in anti-nuclear protests, calling for the end of atomic power in the wake of the crisis at Fukushima Daiichi.
Among those protesting will be some of the nuclear refugees forced to flee their homes in the shadow of the plant as it began venting toxic radiation over homes and farmland.
- with AFP
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