Fukushima Groundwater Shows Record Radiation Levels

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By Kentaro Hamada and Antoni Slodkowski
TOKYO, July 9 (Reuters) – Japan may restart several reactors shut down by the Fukushima nuclear crisis in about a year, a senior regulator said in an interview on Tuesday, a day after new safety rules went into effect designed to avoid a repeat of the disaster.
At the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant north of Tokyo, the site of the world’s worst atomic disaster since Chernobyl in 1986, the situation took a turn for the worse as radiation levels in groundwater soared, suggesting highly toxic materials from the plant are now close to the Pacific Ocean.
But Japan is forging ahead with attempts to restart idled reactors in the face of a sceptical public, after Fukushima highlighted weak oversight of the industry.
That is meant to change with the new rules.
Getting units restarted is a key government goal to reduce the import bill for fossil fuel to run conventional stations. Only two of Japan’s 50 reactors are connected to the grid and operators applied to restart 10 on Monday.
“Some units are projected (to restart) one year from now, though I don’t know how many,” Kenzo Oshima, a commissioner of Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority, told Reuters. “It is hard to imagine that all the applications would be rejected, though we don’t know what the outcome will be at the moment.”
He did not identify the reactors that are likely to restart.
SITUATION WORSENS
Tokyo Electric Power Co, the operator of the Fukushima station, hit by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, said that an observation well between the damaged reactor No. 2 and the sea showed levels of radioactive caesium-134 were 90 times higher on Monday than they had been the previous Friday.
Tokyo Electric, also known as Tepco, said it detected caesium-134 at 9,000 becquerels per litre, 150 times above Japan’s safety standard. A becquerel is a measure of the release of radioactive energy.
The reading for caesium-137, with a half life of 30 years, was some 85 times higher than it had been three days earlier.
The latest findings, 25 metres (yards) from the sea, come a month after Tepco detected radioactive caesium in groundwater flowing into its wrecked plant far from the sea on elevated ground. The level of caesium found in June was much lower than the amount announced on Tuesday.
The spike, combined with recent discoveries of high levels of radioactive elements like tritium and strontium, suggest that contaminated water is spreading toward the sea side of the plant from the reactors sitting on higher ground.
“We don’t know what is the reason behind the spike,” Tepco spokeswoman Mayumi Yoshida told Reuters. “We’re still looking to determine the causes behind it.”
The operator has been flushing water over the three reactors to keep them cool for more than two years, but contaminated water has been building up at the rate of an an Olympic-size swimming pool per week.
In April, Tepco warned it may run out of space to store the water and asked for approval to channel what it has described groundwater with low levels of radiation around the plant and to the sea through a “bypass”. Local fishermen oppose the proposal.
Tepco also announced that the plant’s manager at the height of the crisis, when three reactors underwent meltdowns, died on Tuesday of oesophageal cancer – unrelated to his duties.
Masao Yoshida was widely credited with preventing the situation from spiralling out of control when he ignored an order from Tepco executives to stop pouring seawater over the reactors to keep them from overheating further.
He was one of a skeleton group of staff, known as the Fukushima 50, who remained at the plant at the height of the crisis, but he rarely spoke publicly about his experiences. (Additional reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Aaron Sheldrick and Ron Popeski)

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  • JAPAN-DISASTER-ANNIVERSARY-TSUNAMI

    A little boy prays for his relatives killed by the 2011 tsunami at a cemetery in Minamisoma in Fukushima prefecture on March 11, 2013. Japan on March 11 marked the second anniversary of a ferocious tsunami that claimed nearly 19,000 lives and sparked the worst nuclear accident in a generation. AFP PHOTO/ Yoshikazu TSUNO (Photo credit should read YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images)

  • Second Anniversary Of 2011 Earthquake And Tsunami

    A man prays on a site destroyed by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, on Sunday, March 10, 2013. Japan’s economy grew at an annualized 0.2 percent last quarter after shrinking 3.7 percent the three previous months, the worst since the 2011 earthquake, revised government data show. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images

  • Second Anniversary Of 2011 Earthquake And Tsunami

    A woman looks at a vessel swept inland by the tsunami following the Great East Japan Earthquake in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, on Sunday, March 10, 2013. Japan’s economy grew at an annualized 0.2 percent last quarter after shrinking 3.7 percent the three previous months, the worst since the 2011 earthquake, revised government data show. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images

  • Second Anniversary Of 2011 Earthquake And Tsunami

    A man takes a photograph of an area damaged by the tsunami following the Great East Japan Earthquake from a hill in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, on Sunday, March 10, 2013. Japan’s economy grew at an annualized 0.2 percent last quarter after shrinking 3.7 percent the three previous months, the worst since the 2011 earthquake, revised government data show. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images

  • Second Anniversary Of 2011 Earthquake And Tsunami

    Tractors damaged by the tsunami following the Great East Japan Earthquake are stacked in a pile in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, on Sunday, March 10, 2013. Japan’s economy grew at an annualized 0.2 percent last quarter after shrinking 3.7 percent the three previous months, the worst since the 2011 earthquake, revised government data show. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images

  • Second Anniversary Of 2011 Earthquake And Tsunami

    People walk along a street in an area damaged by the tsunami following the Great East Japan Earthquake in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, on Sunday, March 10, 2013. Japan’s economy grew at an annualized 0.2 percent last quarter after shrinking 3.7 percent the three previous months, the worst since the 2011 earthquake, revised government data show. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images

  • Second Anniversary Of 2011 Earthquake And Tsunami

    Boats damaged by the tsunami following the Great East Japan Earthquake are stacked in a pile in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, on Sunday, March 10, 2013. Japan’s economy grew at an annualized 0.2 percent last quarter after shrinking 3.7 percent the three previous months, the worst since the 2011 earthquake, revised government data show. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images

  • JAPAN-DISASTER-ANNIVERSARY-TSUNAMI

    A woman prays for her relatives killed by the 2011 tsunami at a cemetery in Minamisoma in Fukushima prefecture on March 11, 2013. Japan on March 11 marked the second anniversary of a ferocious tsunami that claimed nearly 19,000 lives and sparked the worst nuclear accident in a generation. AFP PHOTO/ Yoshikazu TSUNO (Photo credit should read YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images)

  • JAPAN-DISASTER-ANNIVERSARY-TSUNAMI

    A woman prays for relatives killed by the 2011 tsunami at a cemetery in Minamisoma in Fukushima prefecture on March 11, 2013. Japan on March 11 marked the second anniversary of a ferocious tsunami that claimed nearly 19,000 lives and sparked the worst nuclear accident in a generation. AFP PHOTO/ Yoshikazu TSUNO (Photo credit should read YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images)

  • CORRECTION-JAPAN-DISASTER-ANNIVERSARY-TSUNAMI

    CORRECTION-DATELINE A man prays for tsunami victims in front of a Buddhist statue in the Arahama district in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture on March 11, 2013, the second anniversary of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster. Japan on March 11 marked the second anniversary of a ferocious tsunami that claimed nearly 19,000 lives and sparked the worst nuclear accident in a generation. AFP PHOTO / Toru YAMANAKA (Photo credit should read TORU YAMANAKA/AFP/Getty Images)

  • CORRECTION-JAPAN-DISASTER-ANNIVERSARY-TSUNAMI

    CORRECTION-DATELINE A woman prays for tsunami victims in front of a Buddhist statue recently built on the seashore in the Arahama district in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture on March 11, 2013, the second anniversary of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster. Japan on March 11 marked the second anniversary of a ferocious tsunami that claimed nearly 19,000 lives and sparked the worst nuclear accident in a generation. AFP PHOTO / Toru YAMANAKA (Photo credit should read TORU YAMANAKA/AFP/Getty Images)

  • JAPAN-DISASTER-ANNIVERSARY-TSUNAMI

    Flowers are offered for victims killed by the 2011 tsunami in Minamisoma in Fukushima prefecture on March 11, 2013. Japan on March 11 marked the second anniversary of a ferocious tsunami that claimed nearly 19,000 lives and sparked the worst nuclear accident in a generation. AFP PHOTO/ Yoshikazu TSUNO (Photo credit should read YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images)

  • JAPAN-DISASTER-ANNIVERSARY-TSUNAMI

    A family prays for their relatives killed by the 2011 tsunami at a cemetery in Minamisoma in Fukushima prefecture on March 11, 2013. Japan on March 11 marked the second anniversary of a ferocious tsunami that claimed nearly 19,000 lives and sparked the worst nuclear accident in a generation. AFP PHOTO/ Yoshikazu TSUNO (Photo credit should read YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images)

  • JAPAN-DISASTER-ANNIVERSARY-TSUNAMI

    A couple visits a cemetery to pray for victims killed by the 2011 tsunami in Minamisoma in Fukushima prefecture on March 11, 2013. Japan on March 11 marked the second anniversary of a ferocious tsunami that claimed nearly 19,000 lives and sparked the worst nuclear accident in a generation. AFP PHOTO/ Yoshikazu TSUNO (Photo credit should read YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images)

  • JAPAN-DISASTER-ANNIVERSARY-TSUNAMI

    Buddhists pray for tsunami victims on the seashore in the Arahama district in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, on March 11, 2013, the second anniversary of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster. Japan on March 11 marked the second anniversary of a ferocious tsunami that claimed nearly 19,000 lives and sparked the worst nuclear accident in a generation. AFP PHOTO / Toru YAMANAKA (Photo credit should read TORU YAMANAKA/AFP/Getty Images)

  • JAPAN-DISASTER-ANNIVERSARY-TSUNAMI

    Buddhists pray for tsunami victims on the seashore in the Arahama district in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, on March 11, 2013, the second anniversary of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster. Japan on March 11 marked the second anniversary of a ferocious tsunami that claimed nearly 19,000 lives and sparked the worst nuclear accident in a generation. AFP PHOTO / Toru YAMANAKA (Photo credit should read TORU YAMANAKA/AFP/Getty Images)

  • JAPAN-DISASTER-ANNIVERSARY-TSUNAMI

    Buddhists pray for tsunami victims on the seashore in the Arahama district in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, on March 11, 2013, the second anniversary of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster. Japan on March 11 marked the second anniversary of a ferocious tsunami that claimed nearly 19,000 lives and sparked the worst nuclear accident in a generation. AFP PHOTO / Toru YAMANAKA (Photo credit should read TORU YAMANAKA/AFP/G
    etty Images)

  • JAPAN-DISASTER-ANNIVERSARY-TSUNAMI

    Police officers search for tsunami victims two years after at the estuary of the Kyu Kitakami river in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture on March 11, 2013. Japan on March 11 marked the second anniversary of a ferocious tsunami that claimed the lives of 15,881 people, with 2,668 others remaining unaccounted for, and sparked the worst nuclear accident in a generation. AFP PHOTO / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA (Photo credit should read TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images)

  • JAPAN-DISASTER-ANNIVERSARY-TSUNAMI

    Coast guard officers search tsunami victims at the estuary of Kyu Kitakami river in Ishinomaki city, Miyagi prefecture on March 11, 2013. March 11, 2013 marks the second anniversary of the 9.0 magnitude earthquake that sent a huge wall of water into the coast of the Tohoku region, splintering whole communities, ruining swathes of prime farmland and killing nearly 19,000 people. AFP PHOTO / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA (Photo credit should read TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images)

  • JAPAN-DISASTER-ANNIVERSARY-TSUNAMI

    Police officers search for tsunami victims two years after, at the estuary of the Kyu Kitakami river in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture on March 11, 2013. Japan on March 11 marked the second anniversary of a ferocious tsunami that claimed the lives of 15,881 people, with 2,668 others remaining unaccounted for, and sparked the worst nuclear accident in a generation. AFP PHOTO / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA (Photo credit should read TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images)

  • JAPAN-DISASTER-ANNIVERSARY-TSUNAMI

    Coast guard officers search for tsunami victims two years after, at the estuary of the Kyu Kitakami river in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture on March 11, 2013. Japan on March 11 marked the second anniversary of a ferocious tsunami that claimed the lives of 15,881 people, with 2,668 others remaining unaccounted for, and sparked the worst nuclear accident in a generation. AFP PHOTO / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA (Photo credit should read TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images)

  • JAPAN-DISASTER-ANNIVERSARY-TSUNAMI

    Relatives of tsunami victims pray at a memorial alter at the Okawa elementary school, where at least 70 students died in the 2011 tsunami, in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture on March 11, 2013. Japan on March 11 marked the second anniversary of a ferocious tsunami that claimed the lives of 15,881 people, with 2,668 others remaining unaccounted for, and sparked the worst nuclear accident in a generation. AFP PHOTO / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA (Photo credit should read TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images)

  • JAPAN-DISASTER-ANNIVERSARY-TSUNAMI

    People are reflected in the stone as they visit a memorial alter to pray at the Okawa elementary school, where at least 70 students died in the 2011 tsunami, in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture on March 11, 2013. Japan on March 11 marked the second anniversary of a ferocious tsunami that claimed the lives of 15,881 people, with 2,668 others remaining unaccounted for, and sparked the worst nuclear accident in a generation. AFP PHOTO / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA (Photo credit should read TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images)

  • JAPAN-DISASTER-ANNIVERSARY-TSUNAMI

    Police officers search for tsunami victims two years after the devastating disaster in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture on March 11, 2013. Japan on March 11 marked the second anniversary of a ferocious tsunami that claimed the lives of 15,881 people, with 2,668 others remaining unaccounted for, and sparked the worst nuclear accident in a generation. JAPAN OUT AFP PHOTO / JIJI PRESS (Photo credit should read JIJI PRESS/AFP/Getty Images)

  • JAPAN-DISASTER-ANNIVERSARY-TSUNAMI

    Police officers walk on a mud-covered riverside field near the Okawa elementary school to start a tsunami victim search operation in Ishinomaki city, Miyagi prefecture on March 11, 2013. March 11, 2013 marks the second anniversary of the 9.0 magnitude earthquake that sent a huge wall of water into the coast of the Tohoku region, splintering whole communities, ruining swathes of prime farmland and killing nearly 19,000 people. AFP PHOTO / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA (Photo credit should read TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images)

  • JAPAN-DISASTER-ANNIVERSARY-TSUNAMI

    Police officers walk on a mud-covered riverside field near the Okawa elementary school to start a tsunami victim search operation in Ishinomaki city, Miyagi prefecture on March 11, 2013. March 11, 2013 marks the second anniversary of the 9.0 magnitude earthquake that sent a huge wall of water into the coast of the Tohoku region, splintering whole communities, ruining swathes of prime farmland and killing nearly 19,000 people. AFP PHOTO / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA (Photo credit should read TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images)

  • JAPAN-DISASTER-ANNIVERSARY-TSUNAMI

    Police officers (R) search for tsunami victims two years after, at a mud-covered riverside field near the Okawa elementary school in Ishinomaki city, Miyagi prefecture on March 11, 2013. March 11, 2013 marks the second anniversary of the 9.0 magnitude earthquake that sent a huge wall of water into the coast of the Tohoku region, splintering whole communities, ruining swathes of prime farmland and killing nearly 19,000 people. AFP PHOTO / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA (Photo credit should read TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images)

  • JAPAN-DISASTER-ANNIVERSARY-TSUNAMI

    Police officers take part in a minute of silence at 14:46 during their search misson of tsunami victims at the mud-covered riverside field near the Okawa elementary school in Ishinomaki city, Miyagi prefecture on March 11, 2013. March 11, 2013 marks the second anniversary of the 9.0 magnitude earthquake that sent a huge wall of water into the coast of the Tohoku region, splintering whole communities, ruining swathes of prime farmland and killing nearly 19,000 people. AFP PHOTO / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA (Photo credit should read TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images)

  • JAPAN-DISASTER-ANNIVERSARY-TSUNAMI

    Police officers carry bouquets of flowers as they return to recommence their search misson for tsunami victims at the mud-covered riverside field near the Okawa elementary school in Ishinomaki city, Miyagi prefecture on March 11, 2013 after offering a minute of silence at 14:46. March 11, 2013 marks the second anniversary of the 9.0 magnitude earthquake that sent a huge wall of water into the coast of the Tohoku region, splintering whole communities, ruining swathes of prime farmland and killing nearly 19,000 people. AFP PHOTO / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA (Photo credit should read TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images)

  • JAPAN-DISASTER-ACCIDENT-NUCLEAR-ANNIVERSARY

    People offer silent prayers for victims of the tsunami at Arahama district in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture on March 11, 2013. Japan on March 11 marked the second anniversary of a ferocious tsunami that claimed nearly 19,000 lives and sparked the worst nuclear accident in a generation. AFP PHOTO/Toru YAMANAKA (Photo credit should read TORU YAMANAKA/AFP/Getty Images)

  • JAPAN-DISASTER-ANNIVERSARY-TSUNAMI

    Wrecked vehicles remain in a field of reeds in Namie, two years after the March 11, 2011 tsunami and earthquake, near the striken TEPCO’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Fukushima prefecture on March 11, 2013. March 11, 2013 marks the second anniversary of the 9.0 magnitude earthquake that sent a huge wall of water into the coast of the Tohoku region, splintering whole communities, ruining swathes of prime farmland and killing nearly 19,000 people. AFP PHOTO / YOSHIKAZU TSUNO (Photo credit should read YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images)

  • JAPAN-DISASTER-ANNIVERSARY-TSUNAMI

    An elderly man sits as he and with his wife (not pictured) visit a cemetery to pay respects to their son who was killed i
    n the March 2011 tsunami, in Minamisoma in Fukushima prefecture on March 11, 2013. March 11, 2013 marks the second anniversary of the 9.0 magnitude earthquake that sent a huge wall of water into the coast of the Tohoku region, splintering whole communities, ruining swathes of prime farmland and killing nearly 19,000 people. AFP PHOTO / YOSHIKAZU TSUNO (Photo credit should read YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images)

  • A boy prays for the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami victims after offering a flower in Otsuchi, Iwate prefecture, northern Japan Sunday, March 10, 2013. Japan will mark the second anniversary of the disaster on Monday. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, NO LICENSING IN CHINA, HONG KONG, JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA AND FRANCE

  • Residents pray in front of a memorial for the victims of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami as they make a brief visit to a caution zone in Namie, Fukushima prefecture, northern Japan Sunday, March 10, 2013. Japan will mark the second anniversary of the disaster on Monday. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, NO LICENSING IN CHINA, HONG KONG, JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA AND FRANCE

  • Cars stop at a traffic signal in a snow covered deserted port area, which was engulfed by a tsunami after the March 11, 2011 earthquake, in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan, at dawn on Monday, March 11, 2013. Japan is marking the second anniversary of its earthquake, tsunami and nuclear catastrophe. Memorial services are planned Monday in Tokyo and in barren towns along the battered northeastern coast to coincide the moment the magnitude-9.0 earthquake — the strongest recorded in Japan’s history — struck, unleashing a massive tsunami that killed nearly 19,000 people. (AP Photo/Koji Ueda)

  • A man offers prayers in front of the main entrance of Okawa Elementary School where 74 of the 108 students went missing after the March 11 tsunami in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture, Japan, Monday, March 11, 2013. The two-year anniversary Monday of Japan’s devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear catastrophe is serving to spotlight the stakes of the country’s struggles to clean up radiation, rebuild lost communities and determine new energy and economic strategies. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

  • A woman prays during a rally against nuclear power plants as victims of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami are remembered, at a park in Tokyo, Monday, March 11, 2013. Japan marked the second anniversary on Monday of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that left nearly 19,000 people dead or missing. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

  • People observe a moment of silence for the victims of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami during an event at a park in Tokyo, Monday, March 11, 2013. Japan marked the second anniversary on Monday of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that left nearly 19,000 people dead or missing. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

  • Gathering around what is left of a disaster control center devastated by the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, people bow their heads Monday, March 11, 2013 in Minamisanriku, Miyagi prefecture, Japan, in a moment of silence at 2:46 p.m. when the magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck off Japan’s northeastern coast. Japan marked the second anniversary on Monday of a devastating disasters that left nearly 19,000 people dead or missing. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

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    People offer prayer in a moment of silence in front of what is left of a disaster control center in an area devastated by the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, Monday, March 11, 2013. Japan marked the second anniversary on Monday of the devastating disasters that left nearly 19,000 people dead or missing. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

  • People observe a moment of silence in front of what is left of a disaster control center in an area devastated by the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, in Minamisanriku, Miyagi prefecture, in Japan, Monday, March 11, 2013. Japan marked the second anniversary on Monday of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that left nearly 19,000 people dead or missing.(AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

  • People offer prayers in front of what is left of a disaster control center in an area devastated by the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, in Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, Monday, March 11, 2013. Japan marked the second anniversary on Monday of the devastating disasters that left nearly 19,000 people dead or missing. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

  • A worker walks behind a white plastic plate cutout of the words of a local businessperson, declaring determination to reopen the business, in a tsunami-stricken area in Minamisanriku, Miyagi prefecture, northern Japan, Monday, March 11, 2013. Japan marked the second anniversary on Monday of a devastating earthquake and tsunami that left nearly 19,000 people dead or missing. The words mean; I will restart my business from zero like my ancestor. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

  • A man points to the name of one of the victims of the earthquake and tsunami inscribed in a cenotaph in Okawa district in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, northern Japan, Monday, March 11, 2013. Japan marked the second anniversary on Monday of a devastating earthquake and tsunami that left nearly 19,000 people dead or missing. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

  • People observe a moment of silence for the victims of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami during an event at a park in Tokyo, Monday, March 11, 2013. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

  • Aerial

    Red and white cranes stand by reactors of the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, Monday morning, March 11, 2013. The two-year anniversary Monday of Japan’s devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear catastrophe is serving to spotlight the stakes of the country’s struggles to clean up radiation, rebuild lost communities and determine new energy and economic strategies. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, NO LICENSING IN CHINA, HONG KONG, JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA AND FRANCE

  • People offer prayers as a Buddhist monk chants a sutra for tsunami victims to mark the second anniversary of the 2011 earthquake an tsunami on a beach in Arahama in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, Monday morning, March 11, 2013. Japan marked the second anniversary of the disasters, that killed nearly 19, 000 people in areas along Japan’s northeastern coast. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, NO LICENSING IN CHINA, HONG KONG, JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA AND FRANCE

  • An artificially-restored “miracle pine tree,” that survived the March 11, 2011 tsunami, is silhouetted against the rising sun in Rikuzentakata, Iwate prefecture, Japan, Monday, March 11, 2013. Japan marked the second anniversary of its earthquake, tsunami and nuclear catastrophe, that killed nearly 19, 000 people in areas along Japan’s northeastern coast. The 27-meter (88-foot and 7-inch)-tall tree, a single survivor among 70,000 trees in a forest along the coast, has just been restored in a project to preserve it. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, NO LICENSING IN CHINA, HONG KONG, JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA AND FRANCE

  • People offer prayers in front of a memorial cenotaph for tsunami victims on a beach in Arahama in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, Monday morning, March 11, 2013. Japan marked the second anniversary of its earthquake, tsunami and nuclear catastrophe, that killed nearly 19, 000 people in areas along Japan’s northeastern coast. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, NO LICENSING IN CHINA, HONG KONG, JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA AND FRANCE

  • Police officers search for the remains of those who went missing in the March 11, 2011 tsunami on the coastlin
    e in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, northern Japan, Monday, March 11, 2013. The two-year anniversary Monday of Japan’s devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear catastrophe is serving to spotlight the stakes of the country’s struggles to clean up radiation, rebuild lost communities and determine new energy and economic strategies.(AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

  • Women approach Okawa Elementary School where 74 of the 108 students went missing after the March 11 tsunami in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture, Japan, Monday, March 11, 2013. The two-year anniversary Monday of Japan’s devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear catastrophe is serving to spotlight the stakes of the country’s struggles to clean up radiation, rebuild lost communities and determine new energy and economic strategies. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)