Japan is Marking the Fifth Anniversary of the Earthquake and Tsunami

The magnitude-9.0 quake struck offshore, creating a vast water surge that devastated the north-east coast.It also triggered the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.Water inundated the plant, taking cooling systems offline which set off a series of meltdowns.

Japan is marking the fifth anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that left more than 18,000 dead or missing.

PM Shinzo Abe and Emperor Akihito are attending a memorial in Tokyo, and joined a moment of silence nationwide at the exact moment the quake hit.