Japan marks 15 years since tsunami disaster as Takaichi pushes more nuclear energy use

Japan marked the 15th anniversary of the devastating earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster that struck its northeastern coast on Wednesday, as the government continues to advocate for increased use of nuclear energy.

The magnitude 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami on March 11, 2011, devastated coastal communities, claiming more than 22,000 lives and forcing nearly half a million residents to evacuate their homes. Most evacuations resulted from the massive tsunami waves that swept through towns and villages, destroying everything in their path.

In Fukushima Prefecture, approximately 160,000 residents fled their homes due to radiation concerns after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant suffered meltdowns in three of its six reactors. Today, about 26,000 evacuees have yet to return to their original communities, either because they’ve resettled elsewhere, their hometowns remain uninhabitable due to radiation, or they harbor lingering health concerns about potential exposure.

The nation observed a solemn moment of silence at 2:46 p.m., marking the exact moment the earthquake struck 15 years ago. In coastal areas, residents made early morning pilgrimages to shorelines to pray for lost loved ones, including those whose remains have never been recovered.

At a commemoration ceremony in Fukushima, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pledged to accelerate recovery efforts over the next five years and to honor “the valuable lessons we learned from the huge sacrifice of the disaster.” Her administration has been pushing to restart more nuclear reactors across the country, representing a significant policy reversal from the phase-out plans that dominated the decade following the disaster.

This shift back toward nuclear energy marks a dramatic change in Japan’s energy strategy. After the 2011 disaster, the country shut down all its nuclear plants for safety inspections, with most remaining offline for years as stricter regulations were implemented. However, in 2022, facing energy security concerns and climate goals, the government formally abandoned its nuclear phase-out policy.

Physical reconstruction in the affected areas has progressed substantially over 15 years. Critical infrastructure including roads, bridges, and public facilities has been rebuilt in Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima and other coastal regions where more than 1 million structures were damaged or destroyed. Despite these efforts, many communities continue to struggle with population decline, economic recovery, and the psychological trauma that remains deeply embedded in the region.

The technical challenges at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant remain formidable. The three damaged reactors contain at least 880 tons of melted nuclear fuel debris, but details about conditions inside remain limited due to extremely dangerous radiation levels that prevent direct human inspection. The timeline for full-scale removal of this melted fuel has been repeatedly extended, with current plans pushing the work until 2037 or beyond.

At Unit 1, which recently received a new protective roof, workers are preparing to remove debris from upper floors in preparation for eventually removing spent fuel from the cooling pool, an operation not expected to begin until 2027-2028.

Environmental contamination continues to present significant challenges. Decontamination efforts across affected areas have generated enormous volumes of radioactive soil—enough to fill 11 baseball stadiums. While the government has committed to relocating this soil and has proposed using some of the less contaminated material for road construction and other public works, these initiatives have faced substantial public resistance.

The anniversary serves as a somber reminder of Japan’s most devastating natural disaster in recent history and the complex nuclear emergency that continues to shape the nation’s energy policies, environmental concerns, and regional recovery efforts fifteen years later.