Namie, Japan — Japanese police officers in radiation suits bow their heads in prayer for tsunami victims near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The magnitude 9 earthquake that struck March 11, 2011, caused a tsunami that devastated the Tohoku region, splintering whole communities, ruining swaths of prime farmland and killing nearly 19,000 people.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: YOSHIKAZU TSUNO / AFP/Getty Images

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Ishinomaki, Japan — Visitors gather at a memorial altar at the Okawa elementary school, where at least 70 students died in the 2011 tsunami.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA / AFP/Getty Images

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Minamisoma, Japan — A man visits a cemetery to pay respects to his son, who was killed in the March 2011 tsunami.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: YOSHIKAZU TSUNO / AFP/Getty Images

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Miyako, Japan — Buddhist monks march on the seawall on the second anniversary of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster that killed nearly 19,000 people in areas along Japan's northeastern coast.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: AFP/Getty Images

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Kesennuma, Japan — A light show commemorates the anniversary of the quake and tsunami.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Athit Perawongmetha / Getty Images

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Sendai, Japan — A woman prays at a candle service marking the second anniversary of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: KIMIMASA MAYAMA / EPA

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Otsuchi, Japan — A Buddhist monk offers prayers in Iwate prefecture.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Ken Ishii / Getty Images

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Otsuchi, Japan — At Kouganji Temple in Iwate prefecture, Hana Tanaka, 4, cleans the grave of her grandparents, who were killed in the March 11, 2011, tsunami.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Ken Ishii / Getty Images

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Minamisanriku, Japan — People gather for a moment of silence to mark the earthquake anniversary in Miyagi prefecture.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Shizuo Kambayashi / Associated Press

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Tokyo — A crowd observes a moment of silence in tribute to the victims of the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami during an event at a park.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Itsuo Inouye / Associated Press

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Kesennuma, Japan — A fishing boat swept ashore by the March 11, 2011, tsunami sits in a deserted port area in Miyagi prefecture.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Koji Ueda / Associated Press

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Namie, Japan — A police officer searches for missing people in a vehicle near the stricken Fukushima Daichi nuclear plant on March 11, 2011.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: YOSHIKAZU TSUNO / AFP/Getty Images

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Sendai, Japan — A bouquet is left in tribute to victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Miyagi prefecture.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Kiyoshi Ota / Bloomberg

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Kesennuma, Japan — The grounded fishing vessel No.18 Kyotoku Maru is illuminated as Japan commemorates the victims of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Athit Perawongmetha / Getty Images

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Sendai, Japan — A Buddhist statue was built recently in honor of tsunami victims in Miyagi prefecture.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: TORU YAMANAKA / AFP/Getty Images

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