By TAKASHI TOGO/ Staff Writer
March 11, 2025 at 12:27 JST
Fukushima residents mourn the victims of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, while the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant can be seen in the distance. (Wataru Sekita)
As the sun rose on the 14th anniversary of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, 28,000 people, with most from Fukushima Prefecture, remain living in evacuation.
About 90 percent of the evacuees, or 25,000, were forced to flee following the triple meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant following the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami.
Residents are not yet able to return home in some areas in seven cities and towns in the prefecture because of the high levels of radiation.
Mental health care among residents also remains a concern in areas heavily impacted by the disasters.
According to the National Police Agency and the Reconstruction Agency, 15,900 people died directly in the earthquake and tsunami, 2,520 people remain missing as of March 1, and 3,808 people died from related causes as of the end of last year, across the nation.
Fiscal 2025 marks the final year of what the government has designated as the second reconstruction and revitalization period to continue reconstruction efforts, which spans the period from April 2021 to March 2026.
The total reconstruction budget since fiscal 2011 will reach 32.9 trillion yen ($224 billion).
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