Silence recalls in Japan earthquake and tsunami three years after

Japanese recalled Tuesday for victims of the earthquake , tsunami and the nuclear accident of March 11, 2011, that left 20,000 casualties and devastated the country's northeast. At 14h46 local ( 05h46 GMT) , the exact time at which there was a magnitude 9 earthquake off the coast of the northeast, the country fell silent , eyes turned to the ground and their hands entwined in commemoration of that fateful day. In Tokyo, the tribute was attended by Emperor Akihito and his wife and the prime minister, Shinzo Abe. The emperor expressed his condolences for the nearly 20,000 dead and missing the giant tsunami that devastated the coast of Miyagi , Iwate and Fukushima, where a nuclear complex stands whose name has become for many synonymous with nuclear disaster. "I pray for a return to times of serenity ," wanted Akihito. figures. According to official data, 15,884 people were killed and 2,633 are still owned listed as missing after the tsunami. "Our parents are still missing. Not think we can find them but I have come to participate in the search, because we wanted to do something to help ," said Miho Suzuki , one exhabitante Namie City , evacuated today. About 270,000 people have yet to return home , destroyed by the tsunami or uninhabitable because of radioactivity. More than 100,000 people in many more cases , still living in temporary prefabricated houses. Despite government promises , many victims will probably take years to have a new home. So far there have been only 3.5% built houses under the provinces of Iwate and Miyagi. "I am determined to accelerate the reconstruction," said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday in Parliament." The revitalization of Japan can not be done without setting foot again in the devastated regions ," he promised. "Unable to return" But many in Fukushina not return for fear of radioactive contamination. Although there was no direct victims by hydrogen explosions and radiation of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex , in the hours and days following the accident about 1,650 people falecieron because of stress and health complications. "It is impossible to return to this central side. Dismantling still take several years ," lamented Morihisa Kadoya, a former resident of Namie. Some refugees even oppose the lifting of the ban from most localities evacuated. The return would also mean the cessation of compensation. Local officials do not lose hope however that these municipalities can repopulate. "I want the citizens of Namie can return one day. This is our goal ," said Yusuke Watanabe, an employee of the council. By nightfall, 2,000 lit candles made ​​up the phrase "Fukushima 11/3 " in a park in the city. " We sincerely regret the accident and we face reconstruction with the difficulties the people of Fukushima have in mind ," said Naomi Hirose, the operating company responsible for the plant, Tokyo Electric Power ( TEPCO). According to a survey of public television NHK , 95 % of Japanese are still concerned about the situation of the Fukushima Daiichi and 80 % think that nuclear energy in the country must be reduced to a minimum.