The country reels after a catastrophic earthquake rocked its northeastern coast on March 11, 2011
Natori, Miyagi prefecture, April 11, 2011
Members of the Japan Self-Defense Force and firemen hold a moment of silence for the victims of the earthquake and the tsunami.Vincent Yu / AP
Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture, April 7, 2011
A man stands before Kadonowaki Elementary School, which was damaged by the earthquake and tsunami.Carlos Barria / Reuters
Devastation
A woman cries while sitting on a road in the destroyed city of Natori on March 13, 2011.Asahi Shimbun / Reuters
Survey
A man walks through debris in Minamisanriku on March 14, 2011.Adrees Latif / Reuters
Iwate Prefecture
An emergency worker throws disinfectant powder on an area affected by the earthquake in Miyako on March 14, 2011.Aly Song / Reuters
Tears
A woman cries while looking at the devastation in Miyako on March 14, 2011.Aly Song / Reuters
Communication
A mother speaks to her daughter through protective glass at a makeshift isolation facility for those with signs of increased radiation levels. People were evacuated from the vicinity of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Nihonmatsu on March 14, 2011.Yuriko Nakao / Reuters
Emergency Aid
Elderly people warm themselves with blankets at a Red Cross hospital after being evacuated from Ishinomaki on March 13, 2011.Damir Sagolj / Reuters
Spilled
Oil leaks from ships swept by the tsunami in Fudai Village, in Iwate prefecture, on March 14, 2011.Yomiuri Shimbun / Reuters
Headstones
A destroyed graveyard in the ravaged town of Natori on March 14, 2011.Alex Hofford / EPA
Emotion
A man comforts a woman as she cries in front of her damaged home in Watari on March 14, 2011.Jiji Press / AFP / Getty Images
Remains
A cow lies in debris near the destroyed village of Saito on March 14, 2011.David Guttenfelder / AP
Wasteland
A man walks through a devastated part of Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture, on April 7, 2011.DAI KUROKAWA / EPA
Survivor
Fire-department personnel rescue a woman from the devastated city of Natori on March 13, 2011.EPA
Ground to Cover
Firefighters search through the rubble in the city of Rikuzentakata.Sankei / Getty Images
Grim Situation
Bodies discovered by soldiers from Japan's Self-Defense Forces are flagged with red and yellow markers in Rikuzentakata.Toru Hanai / Reuters
Remnant
A children's book is seen in the rubble near Rikuzentakata.Lee Jae-Won / Reuters
Shock
A girl wrapped in a blanket views the tsunami-damaged city of Ishinomaki.Yomiuri Shimbnun / AFP / Getty Images
Basic Needs
People wait in line for water at a school in Sendai.Kyodo / Reuters
Sustenance
Earthquake victims line up outside a supermarket in Shiogama.Jiji Press / AFP / Getty Images
Information Center
Residents search for the names of missing relatives after their villages were hit by the earthquake and tsunami in Sendai.Jo Yong-Hak / Reuters
Sorrow
Survivors cry at a shelter in a ruined village near Rikuzentakata.Lee Jae-won / Reuters
Shelter
Survivors of the disaster lie wrapped in blankets at the Red Cross operations center in Miyagi prefecture.Tatsuya Sugiyama / Japanese Red Cross / Reuters
Victim
A body is carried away by Japanese soldiers during a retrieval operation in Otsuchi, Iwate prefecture, on April 7, 2011.DENNIS M. SABANGAN / EPA
Comfort
A woman takes care of her children at a shelter for earthquake-affected people in Sendai.Philippe Lopez / AFP / Getty Images
Search and Rescue
Members of Japan's Self-Defense Forces carry out rescue work in the city of Kesennuma.Sankei / Getty Images
Wasteland
Debris covers a large area in Natori, near Sendai.Mike Clarke / AFP / Getty Images
Exposure
Soldiers carry a person who is believed to have been contaminated with radiation to a treatment center in Nihonmatsu, in Fukushima prefecture.Yomiuri Shimbun / AFP / Getty Images
Testing
An official scans a man for radiation at an emergency center in Koriyama.Gregory Bull / AP
Nightmare
Residents evacuated from areas surrounding the Fukushima plant comfort one another during a check for radiation contamination.Wally Santana / AP
In the Air
Black smoke billows from a burning oil refinery.Junji Kurokawa / AP
Devastation
A tsunami survivor stands on debris of beer cans and barrels washed away from a nearby brewery.Shuji Kajiyama / AP
Rubble
A Japan Self-Defense Forces helicopter rescues people in Minamisanriku.Kyodo / Reuters
Wreckage
People make their way through the debris from destroyed homes after the earthquake and tsunami in Sendai.Kyodo / Reuters
Minamisanriku, Miyagi prefecture, April 6, 2011
Men rest among debris from the disaster.Toru Hanai / Reuters
Assistance
Japan Self-Defense Forces officers rescue a woman by boat in Ishinomaki.Yomiuri / Reuters
Tears of Relief
A woman cries after learning that her mother was successfully rescued from a building in Miyagi prefecture.Kyodo / Reuters
Nuclear Risk
Smoke rises from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant after an explosion.NTV / Reuters
Derailed
The wreckage of a train destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami lies near the coastal town of Sendai.Yomiuri / Reuters
Emergency
People wait to be rescued atop a building after spelling out SOS in Kesennuma.Yomiuri / Reuters
Lifted to Safety
A victim is rescued by helicopter in Iwate.Kyodo / Reuters
Sustenance
Evacuees from the area around the Fukushima plant receive a meal at an evacuation center in Namie.Kyodo / Reuters
Embrace
People hug one another in an evacuation center set up in a middle-school gymnasium in Rikuzentakata.Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters
High Water
An aerial view of earthquake and tsunami damage in the coastal town of Minamisoma.Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters
Debris
Wreckage fills a street in Kesennuma.Yomiuri / Reuters
Play Time
A boy who survived the tsunami plays with a toy car amid the devastation in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture, on April 6, 2011.YASUYOSHI CHIBA / AFP / Getty Images
Shells
Burned, gutted cars sit at Hitachi harbor.Kyodo / Reuters
Intense
Fireboats battle a blaze at the Cosmo Oil facility in Ichihara, near Tokyo.Kyodo / Reuters
Stranded
Damaged ships sit in shallow water in Kesennuma.Yomiuri / Reuters
Torched
Smoke billows from fire-gutted vessels in waters off Kesennuma.Kyodo / Reuters
Aground
A ship swept into buildings in Kamaishi.Yomiuri / Reuters
Breadth and Width
A man and a child look out over homes destroyed by the tsunami and earthquake in Sendai.Kyodo / Reuters
Horrific Mess
Fires burn among houses washed away by the tsunami.Reuters
Swept Away
Debris surrounds trucks and other vehicles destroyed by the tsunami.Yomiuri / Reuters
Bringing Down the House
A severely damaged road in Sukagawa.Fukushima Minpo / Jiji Press / AFP
Injured
Rescue workers tend to wounded people in Tokyo.Yomiuri / Reuters
Hanging
A house that was washed away by the tsunami is tangled in power lines in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture, on April 6, 2011.YASUYOSHI CHIBA / AFP / Getty Images
Pileup
These vehicles were being prepared for shipping when the tsunami struck, carrying the cars in its wake.Jiji Press / AFP / Getty Images
Flooded
Waters inundate Miyagi prefecture.Kyodo / Reuters
Inferno
A natural-gas facility in Ichihara burns.Asahi / Reuters
Whirlpools
Water swirls off the coast of Fukushima prefecture.Yomiuri / Reuters
Carried Away
Fishing boats float beside cars washed out to sea in Iwaki.Jiji Press / AFP / Getty Images
Grounded
Cars and planes mixed with debris at the airport in Sendai.Kyodo / Reuters
Blaze
Buildings near the Sendai airport burn.Kyodo / Reuters
Ashore
The quake is said to be the most powerful to hit Japan in more than a century.Yomiuri / Reuters
Chaos
The wave smashed these houses and cars in Miyagi prefecture.AFP / Getty Images
Off-Kilter
This Tokyo office was left in disarray after the quake.Hiroki "Duke" Kobayashi / AFP / Getty Images
Clearing Out
A crane lifts piles of debris at a collection point in the coastal town of Onagawa, Miyagi prefecture, on April 5, 2011.DAI KUROKAWA / EPA
View
Two men look at smoke rising over Tokyo after the earthquake hit.Xinhua / Gamma / Rappho / Getty Images
Yamada, Iwate prefecture, April 4, 2011
Sokan Obara, a Buddhist monk, prays for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami.The Asahi Shimbun / Getty Images
Shipwrecked
Members of a family look for their belongings near a ship that washed ashore in Kesennuma, Miyagi prefecture, on April 4, 2011.Lee Jin-man / AP
Sorting Through
An elderly couple retrieve personal belongings salvaged from their home in Kirikiri, Iwate prefecture, on April 3, 2011.Damir Sagolj / Reuters
Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture, April 10, 2011
Tsunami survivor Kenichi Kurosawa and his friends write "Ganbaro!," or "Hang in there," on a billboard lit up by car headlights nearly one month after the area was devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP/ Getty Images
Support
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, center, visits a tsunami-affected area in Rikuzentakata, Iwate prefecture, on April 2, 2011.JIJI PRESS / AFP / Getty Images
Cracked
The earthquake destroyed many roads, like this one in Naraha, Fukushima prefecture, seen on April 1, 2011.Jana Press / ZUMAPRESS.com
Washed Up
Ships washed ashore in the aftermath of the tsunami and earthquake near Sendai, Miyagi prefecture, as seen on April 1, 2011.Toru Hanai / Reuters
Barren
A sole house stands on April 1, 2011, in a neighborhood in Sendai, Miyagi prefecture, that was otherwise destroyed by the tsunami.Toru Hanai / Reuters
Makeshift Homes
Evacuees rest in their individual spaces at a temporary evacuation center in Onagawa, Miyagi prefecture, on April 1, 2011.DAI KUROKAWA / EPA
Diving In
Members of a search-and-rescue team look for missing people in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture, on April 1, 2011.Carlos Barria / Reuters
Floating
Vehicles and debris float above a rice field flooded with tsunami water in Higashimatsushima, Miyagi prefecture, on March 31, 2011.YASUYOSHI CHIBA / AFP / Getty Images
Blocked
A fire truck stops in front a shipping vessel damaged by the tsunami in Onagawa, Miyagi prefecture.KIMIMASA MAYAMA / EPA
R.I.P.
Three women mourn the victims of the tsunami and earthquake at a temporary mass grave site in Higashimatsushima, Miyagi prefecture, on March 31, 2011.Carlos Barria / Reuters
Newborn
A baby just a couple of weeks old is tested for possible nuclear radiation at a shelter in Koriyama, Fukushima prefecture, on March 31, 2011.Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters
Destroyed
A man walks through Onagawa, Miyagi prefecture, on April 10, 2011.Vincent Yu / AP
Gone
Students look at what is left of their junior high school yard in Higashimatsushima, Miyagi prefecture.TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA / AFP / Getty Images
Lady Liberty
A replica of the Statue of Liberty stands in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture, on March 30, 2011, amid the devastation caused by the tsunami.KIMIMASA MAYAMA / EPA
VIPs
Emperor Akihito, center, and Empress Michiko talk with evacuees at a temporary shelter at the Nippon Budokan in central Tokyo on March 30, 2011.Issei Kato / Reuters
Checking Accounts
Local residents line up for banking services in Kesennuma, Miyagi prefecture, on March 30, 2011.Vincent Yu / AP
Missing Items
A woman searches through rubble for her belongings on March 29, 2011, in Minami Sanriku, Miyagi prefecture.Athit Perawongmetha / Getty Images
Endeavor
Electricians install a utility pole in Minami Sanriku, Miyagi prefecture, on March 29, 2011, in hopes of restoring electricity to the town.Athit Perawongmetha / Getty Images
In Need
Locals stand in line to receive food and clothing distributed by members of the Japan Self-Defense Force in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture, on March 28, 2011.Paula Bronstein / Getty Images
Deepest Apologies
The vice president, center, and two other employees of the Tokyo Electric Power Company, the operator of the tsunami-stricken nuclear plant in Fukushima, bow their heads in apology to evacuees at a shelter in Koriyama, Fukushima prefecture, on March 23, 2011.KEN SHIMIZU / AFP / Getty Images
In Awe
A ferry lies on top of a two-story building in Otsuchi, Owate prefecture, on March 28, 2011. As of that day, the death toll had risen to 10,901 people, with 17,649 still missing.STEPHEN MORRISON / EPA
Searching
Members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force look for missing people in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture, on March 25, 2011.KIMIMASA MAYAMA / EPA
Grim Task
Members of the Metropolitan Police Department search for victims of the tragedy in Rikuzentakata, Miyagi prefecture, on April 9, 2011.Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP / Getty Images
Assessing Damage
Makoto Kiwada looks through what is left of his home in Rikuzentakata, Iwate prefecture, on March 28, 2011; a tsunami wave had moved it more than 200 yards (180 m).Pix Planete / Globe Photos / ZUMAPRESS.com
Pause
Fishermen Yutaka Watanabe sits on the roof of a destroyed house while looking for family members in Minamisanriku, Miyagi prefecture, on March 28, 2011.YASUYOSHI CHIBA / AFP / Getty Images
Mass Destruction
A ship sits amid the rubble of a residential neighborhood in Kesennuma, Miyagi prefecture, on March 28, 2011.David Guttenfelder / AP
Respite
Workers at a cemetery in Kamaishi, Iwate prefecture, take a break from digging a mass grave for victims of the earthquake and tsunami, on March 26, 2011.Damir Sagolj / Reuters
Burying the Dead
After placing a coffin in a mass grave in Higashimatsushima, Miyagi prefecture, members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force salute a victim of the earthquake and tsunami, on March 23, 2011.Yuriko Nakao / Reuters
One Last Time
A woman mourning the loss of a loved one hammers a nail into a coffin lid at a mass funeral in Yamamoto, Miyagi prefecture, on March 26, 2011.David Guttenfelder / AP
Farewell
A Prayer
Staying Alive
Moving Forward
Exclusion Zone
A worker wears protective gear while he cleans in Minamisoma, Fukushima prefecture, 12 miles from the stricken nuclear power plant, on April 9, 2011.Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP / Getty Images
Pushing Through
Cherished Memories
The Last Goodbye
Aftermath
A man walks with his dog at a destroyed residential area in Miyagi Prefecture, nearly two weeks after the area was devastated by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami on March 22, 2011.Issei Kato / Reuters
Remnants
A woman pauses as she cleans what used to be her fishing after it was destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami in Minamisanriku, March 22, 2011Carlos Barria / Reuters
Grapling
A bulldozer removes remains from destroyed houses near Minamisanriku, March 22, 2011.Carlos Barria / Reuters
Kesennuma, March 21, 2011
A woman stands in front of a grounded fishing boat and debris in Miyagi prefecture.Fred Dufour / AFP / Getty Images
Lost Music
A piano is submerged in water in the area devastated by tsunami in Rikuzentakata, March 21, 2011.Damir Sagolj / Reuters
Yamada, March 19, 2011
A girl rides her bicycle past wreckage in a town devastated by the March 11 8.9- magnitude earthquake and tsunami.Kazuihiro Nogi / AFP / Getty Images
Evacuees
Residents of the areas near the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant make do at an evacuation center in Yamagata, March 19.Yuriko Nakao / Reuters
Barely Standing
A destroyed building in Otsuchi, Iwate prefecture, on April 9, 2011.Lee Jin-man / AP
Foreign Help
A U.S. Marine inspects the damage at Sendai Airport, March 19, 2011 as the U.S. military have been asked to help clear the debris from the tsunami to get the airport operational as soon as possible.Mark Baker / AP
Rikuzentakata, Japan, March 18, 2011
Dust and sand blow through a town leveled by the earthquake.Aly Song / Reuters
Found in the Rubble
Kitchen crockery lies on the floor of a damaged house in Kesennuma, March 18, 2011.Philippe Lopez / AFP / Getty Images
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant
A photo taken from a Japanese Self-Defence Force helicopter shows damage sustained by the nuclear complex reactor No. 4. The photo was released on March 17.Reuters
Scan
Officials measure radiation levels of people in Koriyama, about 37 miles from the stricken nuclear power plant.Ken Shimizu / AFP / Getty Images
Searching
A man checks lists of evacuees at an evacuation center near Rikuzentakata, March 18, 2011.Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters
Lost
Coffins lie on the floor of a hall in Rifu, March 18, 2011.Jiji Press / AFP / Getty Images
Final Rite
A family collects the ashes and bones of a relative killed by the earthquake and tsunami.Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters
Devastated Landscape
An emergency worker cycles past debris in Yamada, Iwate Prefecture, March 17, 2011.Aly Song / Reuters
Yamamoto, Miyagi prefecture, April 8, 2011
Members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces bow to pay respect to unidentified victims of the earthquake and tsunami.Athit Perawongmetha / Getty Images
Tears
With his mother still missing, Yoshikatsu Hiratsuka cries in front of his house, which was destroyed by the earthquake, March 17, 2011.YOMIURI SHIMBUN / AFP / Getty Images
Muddied
The interior of the control tower at Sendai Airport, March 17, 2011.Jiji / AFP / Getty Images
Shelter
Evacuees sort through secondhand clothes in Minamisanriku city, March 17, 2011.YOMIURI SHIMBUN / AFP / Getty Images
Nightfall
A vehicle passes through a earthquake-damaged area in Yamada, March 16, 2011.Jiji / AFP / Getty Images
A Winter’s Day
Heavy snow falls on rubble and rescue workers at a devastated factory in Sendai on March 16, 2011, five days after a massive earthquake and tsunami overwhelmed northeastern Japan.Kim Kyung-Hoon / REUTERS
As Snow Falls
Rescue workers from Japan's Self-Defense Forces dig though the debris of houses that were destroyed in Minami Sanriku, in Miyagi prefecture, on March 16, 2011.KIMIMASA MAYAMA / EPA
The Search Continues
Rescue workers walk through the ruins of Kamaishi, in Iwate prefecture, on March 16, 2011.Damir Sagolj / REUTERS
At Attention
Members of the Self-Defense Forces arrive at the devastated town of Otsuchi, in Iwate prefecture, on March 16, 2011. Twelve thousand people, out of a population of 15,000, have disappeared since the earthquake and tsunami hit.Damir Sagolj / Reuters
Still Missing
Notes from survivors looking for loved ones adorn the entrance of Natori City Hall in northern Japan on March 16, 2011.Koji Sasahara / AP
Fear of Exposure
On March 16, 2011, medical staff use a Geiger counter to screen a woman for radiation exposure in Hitachi, in Ibaraki prefecture, after she was evacuated from an area near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. (The woman tested negative.)Asahi Shimbun / REUTERS
Mass Burial
A Buddhist monk chants prayers before burying unidentified victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Yamamoto, Miyagi prefecture, on April 8, 2011.Athit Perawongmetha / Getty Images
The Toll Rises
Police officers gather the bodies of victims in Rikuzentakata, in Iwate prefecture, on March 16, 2011.Adrees Latif / REUTERS
What Remains
People look for their belongings in a collapsed house in Miyako, in Iwate prefecture, on March 15, 2011. Several tens of thousands of people were still reported missing.Junko Kimura / Jana Press / ZUMA PRESS
Observing the Ruins
A resident stands on the ruins of a home in Kesennuma, in Miyagi prefecture, on March 15, 2011.Ren Zhenglai / XINHUA / LANDOV
Recovering Victims
Rescue workers carry the body of a victim in Kesennuma on March 15, 2011.Adrees Latif / REUTERS
Taking Precuations
An emergency worker throws disinfectant in an area affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Miyako, in Iwate prefecture, on March 14, 2011.Aly Song / REUTERS
Mourning Loved Ones
Syunsuke Doi, 22, left, mourns after finding the bodies of his wife and two children at a makeshift morgue built after the earthquake in Higashimatsushima on March 14, 2011.Shiho Fukada / International Herald Tribune / Redux
Wasteland
A resident looks at the ruins in quake-shaken Ofunato on March 15, 2011.Xinhua / Gamma-Rapho / Getty Images
Salvaged
The Sasaki family carries some of their personal belongings on March 15, 2011. Their home in Rikuzentakata was destroyed.Paula Bronstein / Getty Images
Remains
Rescue workers carry the body of a victim in Kesennuma on March 15, 2011.Adrees Latif / Reuters
Morgue
Bodies found in the ruins of the residential area of Otsuchi are collected in a gymnasium on March 15, 2011.Damir Sagolj / Reuters
Royal Greeting
Emperor Akihito speaks with evacuees from Fukushima at a shelter in Kazo, Saitama prefecture, on April 8, 2011.TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA / AFP / Getty Images
Once Lost, Now Found
Kiyomi Kimura, right, hugs her daughter Manami Numakura after reuniting at a shelter in Ishinomaki on March 15, 2011.Jiji Press / AFP / Getty Images
Safety
Residents eat emergency rations at a candlelit shelter after leaving the devastated areas of Minamisanriku, in Miyagi prefecture, on March 15, 2011.Kazuhiro Nogi / AFP / Getty Images
Bare Market
A woman walks past empty shelves at a grocery store in the northwestern city of Akita on March 15, 2011, as panic buying began to sweep through the country.Roslan Rahman / AFP / Getty Images
Contamination?
A child is screened for radiation exposure at a testing center in Koriyama on March 15, 2011.Wally Santana / AP
Grief
A survivor keeps herself warm at a center for evacuees in Otsuchi on March 15, 2011.Damir Sagolj / Reuters
Ruin
A young survivor searches the ruins of her family home for any belongings in the leveled city of Minamisanriku on March 15, 2011.David Guttenfelder / AP
Havoc
Firefighters battle a blaze in Kesennuma on March 15, 2011.Adrees Latif / Reuters
Decimation
Rescue workers search the ruins of the residential area of Otsuchi on March 15, 2011.Aly Song / Reuters
Swept Away
A home is seen adrift in the Pacific Ocean, in a photograph taken on March 13, 2011, and released on March 14.Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Dylan McCord / U.S. Navy / Reuters
Miyagi Prefecture
On March 14, 2011, three days after the massive earthquake and tsunami struck Japan, the city of Sendai was in ruins.Noboru Hashimoto / AFP / Getty Images
