Japan marks 3 years since quake-tsunami disasters, nuclear crisis

TOKYO. KAZINFORM Japan marked the third anniversary of the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami Tuesday with prayers for more than 18,000 people who died or remain missing in the catastrophe, which also triggered the world's worst nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Three years since the magnitude 9.0 quake, and ensuing tsunami and nuclear disaster in northeastern Japan, disaster-struck communities continue to struggle to come to terms with the loss of so many lives and properties, and many remain in temporary residences, Kyodo reports. Memorial services were held across the country on Tuesday, with a moment of silence observed at 2:46 p.m. when the massive quake occurred, forcing the evacuation of about 470,000 people in the ensuing chaotic days.