Thousands of lives lost, and children have cancer

TOKYO — As Japan moves closer to its planned release of nuclear-contaminated water from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, local residents are expressing their anger and opposition.

On Saturday, 12 years had passed from when a magnitude-9.0 earthquake hit northeastern Japan that, with an ensuing tsunami, ravaged large parts of the coast and left almost 20,000 people dead, including about 3,700 whose subsequent deaths were linked to the disaster.

A moment of silence was observed nationwide at 2:46 pm, the time the earthquake struck.

Some residents in the tsunami-hit northern prefectures of Iwate and Miyagi walked to the coast to pray for their loved ones and the 2,519 whose remains were never found.

In Tomioka, one of the Fukushima towns where initial searches had to be abandoned because of radiation, firefighters and police used sticks and a hoe to rake through the coastline looking for the possible remains of the victims or their belongings.

At an elementary school in Sendai, in Miyagi prefecture north of Fukushima, participants released hundreds of colorful balloons in memory of those who died.

At a ceremony, the Governor of Fukushima Masao Uchibori said decontamination and reconstruction had made progress, but "we still face many difficult problems".

As Japan prepares to dump nuclear-contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean, locals are expressing their anger and opposition.

On Saturday in front of the headquarters of the Tokyo Electric Power Company, operator of the Fukushima nuclear station, a crowd expressed its strong opposition to the discharge plan.

Messages on signs they held included "The ocean is not a dustbin" and "Do not discharge nuclear-contaminated water into the sea".

"I am strongly opposed to the discharge," said Makoto Yanagida of the environmental organization Tanpoposya.

"The contaminated water, if stored for 100 years, will be much less radioactive according to its half-life, and there is room for these tanks in Fukushima.

"There are too many radioactive elements in the water, not just tritium."

In front of two of the power company's officials who remained silent, one of the protesters read aloud a petition.

"The radioactive elements in the nuclear waste water will return to the human body through the food chain, including algae and fish, and will again damage people's health."

At least 378 children in Fukushima have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer since the accident, said Toshiko Okada, a member of a citizens' group.

"Our clean ocean and beautiful home should be given back to us."

Also on Saturday people gathered in front of the Prime Minister's official residence to protest against the plan to discharge water from the plant into the ocean.

Protesters' chants resounded amid the playing of drums: "The Fukushima nuclear accident must not be forgotten", "Protect the sea" and "Protect the children".