Photo/Illutration Participants at an event held on March 11 in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, release dove balloons with messages to those who died in the twin disasters 12 years ago. (Hideaki Ishibashi)

Events were held around Japan on March 11 to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, as attendees marked the exact time at 2:46 p.m. when the magnitude-9.0 earthquake struck. 

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who attended an event held in Fukushima city, said, “It is our responsibility to pass on to future generations the valuable lessons that were obtained on the basis of the huge sacrifices brought on by the natural disasters as well as to further promote the creation of a nation that can withstand such disasters in the future.”

According to Imperial Household Agency officials, Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and their daughter, Princess Aiko, observed a moment of silent prayer at 2:46 p.m. 

While various memorial events were held in the areas of the Tohoku region in northern Japan most affected by the quake and tsunami, residents of Kobe in western Japan also observed a moment of silence.

The port city was the center of the devastation caused by the Great Hanshin Earthquake of Jan. 17, 1995.

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