People all over Japan bowed their heads in silence as they remembered thousands of victims killed in a devastating earthquake and tsunami exactly two years ago.
They marked the moment when the 9.0 magnitude quake struck off the northeastern coast, triggering waves as high as 30 metres (100ft) that swept away residents and their homes.
The country's worst disaster since World War Two also wrecked the Fukushima nuclear power plant, sparking another emergency.
Three reactors suffered meltdowns and spewed radiation into the surrounding soil and water after the tsunami knocked out the plant's vital cooling system.
A total of 15,881 people are confirmed to have died in the triple disaster and 2,668 others remain unaccounted for.
And more than 300,000 people remain displaced, including about half of them evacuees from areas near the plant.
Police take part in a moment of silence during their search for victims Ceremonies were held in towns and cities throughout the disaster zone, as well as in Tokyo.
In the city, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko led tributes to those who lost their lives, including over 2,300 whose deaths have been recorded as being caused by the stresses of life in evacuation centres or temporary housing.
"I am always deeply moved by seeing how so many people lead their daily lives without complaining ... and hope ... to be able to share their suffering, if only a little," he said.
In the city of Ishinomaki, where at least 70 children at a school were swept to their deaths by the rising waters of March 11, 2011, tsunami alarms were sounded, marking the exact moment the undersea quake hit.
Nearly 10,000 aftershocks have been recorded since the original quake, including 736 jolts that measured above a magnitude of 5.0.
The aftermath of the 2011 disaster Some shook the ground at the plant which has now been brought under a stable state known as "cold shut down".
But decommissioning its damaged reactors will take decades and cost billions of pounds. Many of the 160,000 who fled the area will never be able to return.
Schoolgirl Rin Yamane recounted the horror of the day she lost her mother as they tried to escape the waves.
"Suddenly, we were in the middle of a black sea ... When I saw her in a morgue a few days later, I knew then it was a reality," she said.
Police in Miyagi prefecture have been continuing their search for those still listed as missing, with a 50-strong team scouring the coastline.
"We haven't found any bodies for a year," police officer Toshiaki Okajima told the AFP news agency.
"But there are still 1,300 missing people in Miyagi alone and the feelings of families haven't changed. That's why the police need to keep looking for remains."
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