Still recovering, Japan marks 10 years since tsunami hit

Japan fell quiet at 2:46 p.m. to mark the minute that an earthquake began 10 years ago, before setting off a tsunami and nuclear crisis that devastated the country's northeast coast.

One survivor said Thursday that he fears people are beginning to forget the disaster.

Carrying bouquets of flowers, many walked to the seaside or visited graves to pray for relatives and friends washed away by the water.

Dignitaries and representatives of the survivors spoke at a memorial, but most watched the ceremony online or on television because of restrictions to slow the coronavirus pandemic.

The magnitude-9.0 quake that struck on March 11, 2011, triggered a tsunami, destroying towns and causing meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.