Fukushima one year later: Looking for hope

People living in the disaster-hit areas along the northeastern coastline of Japan in last March showed the world how to keep hope alive.

It has been one year since 14:46 Japan Standard Time on March 11, 2011. After a 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck the east side of Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture on the Pacific coast, the resulting tsunami swept the coastal areas and caused major loss of lives and properties.

But local residents facing such adversity have kept their faith and rebuilt their lives while the outside world feared the consequences of radiation leaking from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant.

"It is not anyone's fault, so there is no need to blame," says Kuchigawa, a 78-year-old lady who lost all her four houses in the tsunami.

There were two other elderly women along with Kuchigawa and all of them had just come out of a music class, which was established in the Kasetsu Jyutaku, in accomodation built for people moving out of the general evacuation centers.

Temporary housing are built in rows and scattered along the disaster zones. They are small with at least a mini kitchen, a living room and a stand up bathroom. But you can find shops, restaurants and classrooms for various activities.

The Japanese people have been remarkably calm and resilient, especially during such national crises.

Nuclear-plant workers ride home on a bus after an exhausting day on Saturday. Cui Meng / China Daily