<figure id="attachment_460505" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-460505" style="width: 2500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="18f5d01b"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/03/0ab724bdc5245a36907a463f04654907.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-460505" class="wp-caption-text">A view of Minamisanriku Town, Miyagi Prefecture, immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake.&#8217; Photographed in March 2011</figcaption></figure>
<p> A vivid scene unfolded before my eyes. Dozens of twisted and bent rebars, charred interior walls exposed to the outside world, and eerie white smoke rising incessantly. &#8230;&#8230; This is the devastation of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (Futaba-gun, Fukushima Prefecture) immediately after the explosion that this reporter witnessed.</p>
<p> March 11 marked 15 years since the Great East Japan Earthquake that left more than 20,000 people dead or missing. Even today, it is difficult to say that the affected areas have fully recovered from this unprecedented disaster. Immediately after the disaster, I frequently visited the affected areas. I would like to recount the claw marks of the massive tsunami and the nuclear power plant accident that I witnessed.</p>
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<p> A few weeks after the Great East Japan Earthquake, the reporter headed for Minamisoma City, Fukushima Prefecture. As I entered the residential area from the main road, I saw many buildings damaged by the quake, which registered a maximum intensity of 7 on the Japanese scale, but what left me speechless was when I climbed up on the bank separating the area from the sea side. The land was cleared as far as the eye could see: &#8230;&#8230;. The tsunami was several meters high and swept away buildings, cars, and people. One neighbor who escaped the disaster said at the time, &#8220;There is a picture posted at a nearby facility.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> A neighbor who escaped the disaster said at the time: &#8220;There is a photo posted at a nearby facility, but at first I couldn&#8217;t make out what it showed. A swollen body containing seawater. &#8230;&#8230; These are photos of the bodies of the tsunami victims. They were posted so that family members could identify the bodies.&#8221;</span></p>
<h2> Tsunami Faster Than a Car&#8221;</h2>
<figure id="attachment_460504" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-460504" style="width: 1000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="0b9a5f98"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/03/b1714085ae9adf4cddb8fe4cfd2740c6.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-460504" class="wp-caption-text"> The 380-ton &#8220;Dai-san Ryujin Maru&#8221; washed up in the city center of Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, after the massive tsunami from the Great East Japan Earthquake.&#8217; Photo taken in March 2011.</figcaption></figure>
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<p> A man in his 70s, Mr. A, described the horror of the tsunami in Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture. At the time, he was startled by a tremendous tremor and went outside his house. A short time later, he heard a terrifying rumble from the coast, and then a huge tsunami so high that it covered the sky, knocking down utility poles and trees as it approached.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The tsunami was approaching faster than a car. My wife and I had no time to escape, and we were swallowed up by the tsunami in no time at all. We were swept away so fast that we could barely stand out of the water. I thought to myself, &#8220;This is it. I&#8217;m going to die like this.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Just as I was thinking this, I saw the second floor window of a familiar house in my neighborhood. I desperately grabbed onto the window frame and went inside. But in the murky water, my wife is still there. Selflessly searching around, I found my wife holding onto the tatami mats among the people who were being swept away. I used a bath towel from inside the room as a rope and threw it toward my wife as she approached.</span></p>
<p> Fortunately, Mr. A&#8217;s wife was able to grab the rope and was pulled indoors.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> We were out of our predicament, but too frightened and cold to speak. We were silent for a while, just shivering and trembling.</span></p>
<p> In order to warm themselves, Mr. and Mrs. A took off their soaking wet clothes and hugged each other in the nude. Once their bodies were warm, they put on young women&#8217;s clothes from their wardrobe and waited for the water to recede. It was not until the evening when they headed to the gymnasium of the junior high school, which had been designated as an evacuation center, that they finally felt at ease.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" The shivering reason for the disappearance of the images"></div>
<h2>&#8220;Camera suddenly stopped working: &#8230;&#8230;&#8221;</h2>
<figure id="attachment_460507" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-460507" style="width: 1000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="35c6e151"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/03/9fa156af6d2feecf8df2d4a7ef0832e9.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-460507" class="wp-caption-text"> Within 20km of the nuclear power plant. Metropolitan Police Department riot police search for bodies in protective clothing and masks.&#8217; Photo taken in March 2011.</figcaption></figure>
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<p> The reporter also witnessed the devastation of the nuclear accident. This is the scene I described at the beginning of this article.</p>
<p> It was some time after the explosion at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (hereafter referred to as ICHIEF). With the cooperation of the plant workers, the reporter and his cameraman went to the site. What we witnessed was the cruel sight of the No. 4 reactor building, which exploded four days after the earthquake, as seen from a small hill about 10 minutes&#8217; walk south from the main gate of Ichieff.</p>
<p> As I was stunned by the scene unfolding before my eyes, something unusual suddenly happened. The photographer next to me, who was pressing the shutter release button, murmured in a questioning tone, &#8220;This is strange.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Something is wrong. The camera suddenly stopped working. &#8230;&#8230;</span></p>
<p> When he looked into the camera, he saw that the image he had taken did not appear on the monitor. When he returned to his car parked nearby to check, he found that the camera itself had recovered, but all the images stored on the memory card had been lost. What had happened? An expert who interviewed me at the time explained, &#8220;The images were taken by a camera that had been exposed to the intense radiation emitted from the nuclear power plant.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The camera was probably destroyed by the intense radiation emitted from the nuclear power plant. Humans can only sense light with wavelengths between 0.4 and 0.8 microns, but radiation is invisible light of 0.4 microns or less. Naturally, a camera captures light. Even if people don&#8217;t feel it, the tremendous light from the radiation may have wiped out the image, causing the memory card to go haywire.</span></p>
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<p> A worker who worked at ICHIEF immediately after the accident testified about what it was like inside.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The diameter of the bent rebar in Unit 4 is nearly 20 cm. The explosion must have been so powerful that dozens of such thick bars were bent like candy bars.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> On the ground, too, the situation was terrible: near Unit 1, there is a bus stop for buses that travel around the site, but in front of it, a heavy oil tank, which must have been 10 meters high, was blown away, charred and blocking the way. A crane truck weighing 200 tons was also smashed to pieces, and fire hoses were scattered all over the place. It looked like a battlefield.</span></p>
<p> Fifteen years have passed since then. Although the time has passed, we must not let the memories of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant accident fade. The experiences of those times will surely be of use to future generations.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Immediately after the earthquake... &quot;Inside the nuclear power plant with intense radiation levels&quot; photo"></div>
<figure id="attachment_460508" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-460508" style="width: 2952px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="008d267d"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/03/e21987417be18b928e9578ff1ddcc1ca.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-460508" class="wp-caption-text">The Unit 3 reactor building immediately after the accident. Heavy machinery is removing a large amount of debris (&#8217;11, courtesy of TEPCO).</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_460509" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-460509" style="width: 1000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="6a5b1095"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/03/0fa7d401216899cc1f8957f866785167.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-460509" class="wp-caption-text"> The massive earthquake, fire, and tsunami caused extensive damage to cities in the Tohoku region along the Pacific coast.&#8217; Photo taken in March &#8217;11.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_460514" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-460514" style="width: 1630px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="228a1d88"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/03/d8a0d4e993f31d0d5b3248e658af4596.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-460514" class="wp-caption-text"> ICHIEF taken from the coastline. Cars and debris washed away by the tsunami have accumulated on the site. The reactor building that exploded can be seen in the upper right. Photo taken in April 2011.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_460510" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-460510" style="width: 3000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="80df250a"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/03/dd992f3d8a94839c6635c6971314cbb3.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-460510" class="wp-caption-text"> The area near Ichief was also severely damaged, including a road that caved in. &#8230;&#8230; Photo taken in April 2011.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_460511" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-460511" style="width: 3000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="0c13279f"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/03/e39e8a597bda3329ebd01d879449d814.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-460511" class="wp-caption-text"> A view of the Ichiyev area immediately after the earthquake. Taken in April 2011.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_460512" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-460512" style="width: 2146px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="428d4d7c"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/03/96749e5408113b699001e06e12980c32.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-460512" class="wp-caption-text"> Reporter taking photos of the inside of the plant from outside the gate. Taken in April 2011.</figcaption></figure>
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 Shun Kirishima, Soichiro Koriyama, Takero Yuzoku

 March 11 marks the 15th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake. The reporters of this magazine frequently covered the disaster areas immediately after the earthquake. The claw marks of the tsunami and the raw scenes after the nuclear power plant accident can be seen at ....... In this retrospective report, we look back on the devastation we saw and the horrifying experiences we heard about on the ground.

Cameras were destroyed by the intense radiation&#8230;Retrospective Report: The Great East Japan Earthquake &#8220;The land was cleared as far as the eye could see by the tsunami&#8221; Reporters saw the devastation.

Cameras were destroyed by the intense radiation…Retrospective Report: The Great East Japan Earthquake “The land was cleared as far as the eye could see by the tsunami” Reporters saw the devastation.

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