Japan marks 1st anniversary of quake, tsunami, nuclear crisis

More than 19,000 people died or went missing in the March 11 twin natural disasters, which also destroyed more than 370,000 houses.
Many roads have been rebuilt and most debris has been cleaned up but 260,000 people still live in temporary housing in the prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima.
Critics say recovery has been painfully slow and the authorities have squeezed most of the disaster victims into tiny prefabricated housing units located far from city centres.
The nuclear crisis has forced more than 80,000 residents to leave areas around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, which went into meltdown after it was struck by the tsunami. A series of fires and blasts led to massive release of radioactive substances into the environment.
The government set up a no-go zone of a 20-kilometre radius around the plant in late April.
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano told dpa Friday that human error had played a significant role in the nuclear disaster at the plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co.
"One reason that allowed the unfolding of the accident was the lack of independence of the regulatory body in Japan. The Japanese regulatory body was not robust enough, and the oversight over the operator was weak," Amaya said.
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency is under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which has promoted nuclear power generation.
On Sunday, anti-nuclear protests were to be held around the country, including one in Koriyama in Fukushima prefecture, where 15,000 people were expected to gather, organizers said.//DPA