Celebrities, athletes send messages on 10th disaster anniv.
Celebrities and athletes at home and abroad offered words of encouragement as well as expressions of gratitude for support as Japan marked Thursday the 10th anniversary of a devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit the country s northeast.
Lady Gaga is pictured in Washington in January 2021. (UPI/Kyodo)
American pop singer Lady Gaga said she has so much respect to the people of Japan for your strength, kindness and love for each other after seeing and hearing about the recovery of the disaster-hit region over the past decade.
I think it gives hope to the people now who are fighting through the COVID(-19) pandemic all around the world, the 34-year-old diva said in a video message posted on her Twitter account, referring to the ongoing global health crisis.
FEATURE: Engineers smashing disciplinary silos as natural disasters worsen
As the magnitude and complexity of natural disasters become more magnified, Japanese civil engineers are stressing the importance of preparing for future calamities from the perspective of multihazard risk.
Kazuo Konagai, former president of the nonprofit Engineers Without Borders Japan, told Kyodo News in a recent interview that he is growing more and more concerned intense climate change-fueled natural disasters are increasing the risk of simultaneous hazardous events.
Kazuo Konagai (2nd from R), former president of Engineers Without Borders Japan, attends a technical seminar on earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction in Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir, on Oct. 24, 2007. (Photo courtesy of Kazuo Konagai) (Kyodo)
U.S. hails unwavering friendship with Japan on 10th anniv. of 3/11
The U.S. government on Wednesday hailed the unwavering friendship between the American and Japanese people on the 10th anniversary of a massive quake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan and also triggered the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident. Americans are proud to have supported Japan in the aftermath of the March 11 disaster, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement, referring to a relief operation jointly carried out by the U.S. military and Japanese Self-Defense Forces.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is pictured in Washington in February 2021. (UPI/Kyodo)
Japan mourns lost souls 10 yrs after quake-tsunami, Fukushima crisis
Tears, prayers and a resolve to pass on lessons learned swept Japan on Thursday as the country marked 10 years since a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated its northeastern coast, with services held in the hardest-hit areas and Tokyo to mourn the more than 22,000 lives lost and unaccounted for.
People across the nation observed a moment of silence at 2:46 p.m., exactly a decade after the huge quake shook eastern and northeastern Japan, particularly Fukushima, Iwate and Miyagi prefectures, triggering a tsunami and the world s worst nuclear disaster since the 1986 Chernobyl crisis.
Suga, Biden hail post-disaster cooperation as sign of special bond
Combined photo shows U.S. President Joe Biden (R, Getty) and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. (Kyodo)
TOKYO - Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday hailed relief efforts by Japanese and American troops in the wake of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan as a sign of the special bond between their countries.
In a joint statement marking 10 years since the disaster, they looked back on search-and-rescue operations and efforts to provide victims with supplies and transportation by the Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. military, as well as the response to the triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.