The Sanriku Coast's Unbeatable Spirit - Train Cruise

 Ride along Iwate Prefecture's rugged coastline on the Sanriku Railway Rias Line to discover breathtaking natural scenery and meet the indomitable residents rebuilding better and stronger after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

Tsunami Forecast Model Animation: Japan 2011 NOAA

via GIPHY

Fukushima

After Fukushima: faces from Japan's tsunami tragedy, five years on

On the anniversary of the 2011 disaster that killed 19,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands more, life and hope continue a steady resurgence, writesJustin McCurry

Interviews by Justin McCurry

Thursday 10 March 2016 06.40 GMT

On 11 March 2011 a powerful earthquake and tsunami struck the north-east coast of Japan and triggered a triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Almost 19,000 people died in the tsunami, while 160,000 people fled radiation in Fukushima. Five years on more than 174,000 survivors remain displaced, including almost 100,000 people from Fukushima who have yet to return to their homes.

But there are signs, too, that for some people life is returning to a semblance of normality.

To mark the anniversary of Japan’s worst disaster since the war, the Guardian met six people whose courage and determination has inspired other people across the disaster-hit region. From the mayor of a radiation-hit city who refused to leave, to a traumatised fisherman who now looks after his elderly neighbours – ordinary people who, in a few terrifying minutes, saw their lives transformed by catastrophe.

Even robots can't stand Fukushima radiation for long (video)

Japan's long history as a "safe" country meant that the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) was not in the mindset of predicting disasters in a way that may have mitigated the Fukushima Daiichi meltdown, an adviser to Tepco says.

Lake Barrett, who is advising Tepco on the decommissioning of the damaged nuclear plant, says that it was also difficult for the Japanese public to understand afterward what went wrong at Fukushima.

"It's highly technical, and the emotions that go with it are huge," Barrett told CNBC's " Street Signs ."

TEPCO did everything in its power to cover up what happened at Fukushima. From their inability to deal with any sort of crisis. To refusing to listen to outside advice as what could have been done to prevent the meltdown at Fukushima.



The Great East Japan Earthquake unleashed towering tsunami that roared ashore, ravaging 700 kilometers (435 miles) of coastline and killing 15,894 people (a further 2,562 others are still listed as missing). More than 450,000 people were forced from their homes. Many in Japan and abroad remember the aerial video of seawater spilling into coastal communities and inland areas like dark ink across a page, destroying residences, offices, cars and anything else in its path. The surges of water were as high as 39 meters (128 feet) in some places, pushing water as far as 10 kilometers (6.24 miles) inland, flooding more than 560 square kilometers (348 square miles) and creating more than 20 million tons of debris, of which 5 million tons was washed out to sea.