Virus Subdues Japan’s Marking of 9 Years Since Tsunami

A woman prays at a beach in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, on March 11, 2019, the eighth anniversary of the 2011 earthquake-tsunami disaster in northeastern Japan.

TOKYO (Kyodo) — Japan marked the ninth anniversary Wednesday of the massive earthquake and tsunami in its northeastern region that left more than 15,000 people dead, but health fears over the spread of the new coronavirus caused several events to be canceled or scaled down.

A state-sponsored memorial ceremony that had been held every year in Tokyo since 2012 was canceled for the first time, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivering an address at his office instead.

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