Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/22
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/21
In Pictures: Sinkholes around the world
In Pictures: What happened to the green revolution in Iran?
In Pictures: Facing the devastation of the Oklahoma tornadoes
In Pictures: Sandy: Chronicle of an unrelenting storm
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/20
In Pictures: Weather extremes 2013
In Pictures: The Israeli separation barrier: A West Bank wall
A man comes to a tsunami-hit area around "Hiyori Yama," or Weather Hill, to offer prayers for the victims of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan, a day before the one-year anniversary of the disaster. Shizuo Kambayashi/AP
A replica of the Statue of Liberty that was damaged by the March 11 tsunami stands in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, March 9, 2012. Although most buildings in the neighborhood were destroyed by the tsunami, the 30-ft. statue, built in 2010 as a tourist attraction, survived. Shizuo Kambayashi/AP
A car passes by a five-story apartment building. Only its fifth floor survived the March 11 tsunami in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture. Koji Sasahara/AP
Schoolchildren wear padded hoods to protect them from falling debris during a disaster drill named "Shakeout Tokyo" at Izumi elementary school in Tokyo March 9, 2012, ahead of the one-year anniversary of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Issei Kato/Reuters
A man looks for his photographs at a collection center for items that were found in the rubble of an area devastated by the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture March 9, 2012. More than 250,000 photographs and personal belongings are displayed at the center for owners to recover. Toru Hanai/Reuters
Nearly one year after the disaster that claimed the lives of 74 of 108 students at Okawa Elementary School in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, 40 police officers conducted a search March 6, 2012, for four students whose bodies have not yet been recovered, in response to their families' request. Koji Ueda/AP
Portraits of Yukiko Watanabe and Kyoko Watanabe are placed on a table inside Takaki Watanabe's temporary house in Minamisanriku town, in Miyagi prefecture, northeastern Japan, Feb. 24, 2012. Watanabe, a seaweed farmer, was one of the 5.8 percent of people from his hometown whose boat survived the March 11, 2011 tsunami. But tsunami waves swept away his wife, mother, and his house, which was built on land handed down through 13 generations. Yuriko Nakao/Reuters
Kenji Sato holds his son, Haruse (c.), as his other sons Anji (l.) and Oto play at their home in Minamisanriku, northeastern Japan, March 3, 2012. Sato's wife, Hiromi, gave birth to their son at the Ishinomaki Red Cross hospital on March 11, 2011, the same day the massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the northeastern coast of Japan. Sato, a wiry descendant of fishermen in his coastal hometown of Minamisanriku, took time off from work to see his third child, Haruse, born at a hospital in the nearby port city. A year on, the Satos, who all survived the tsunami since their house was built on a hill, are planning a quiet birthday with some cake and ice cream for the child who, his grandmother Kazuko insists, 'was born to save us.' Yuriko Nakao/Reuters
A Buddhist monk chants sutras as he walks through a neighborhood destroyed by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture, March 9, 2012. Shizuo Kambayashi/AP
Kei Sato, carrying his granddaughter Momoka in his back, and his wife, Hiroko, look at the description of a recovery program of their town at their temporary residence in Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, March 2, 2012. Minamisanriku plans to rebuild, moving its remaining population up into the surrounding hillsides. Shizuo Kambayashi/AP
A ship brought ashore by the March 2011 magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami is seen among debris in Kesennuma, north Japan, March 17, 2011. Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
A man films a ship brought ashore by the March 2011 magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami in Kesennuma, north Japan, August 12 , 2011. Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
Japan's former prime minister Naoto Kan speaks during an interview with Reuters in Tokyo Feb. 17, 2012. Nearly a year after a huge quake and tsunami sparked Japan's Fukushima nuclear crisis, Mr. Kan is worried about the prospect of an even bigger disaster forcing tens of millions of people to flee Tokyo. Yuriko Nakao/Reuters
Japan's Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko toured Otsu fishing port, heavily damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Kitaibaraki, Ibaraki prefecture, northeastern Japan, April 23, 2011. Itsuo Inouye/AP
A man walks in an area affected by the March 2011 magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami in Miyako, Iwate prefecture, northeastern Japan, Feb. 17, 2012. Toru Hanai/Reuters
People walk in an area damaged by the March 2011 magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami, in Miyako, Iwate prefecture, April 5, 2011. Toru Hanai/Reuters
Katsuko Abe holds her dog Kaede in her living quarters at the Midorigaoka temporary shelter in Koriyama, Fukushima prefecture Feb. 27, 2012. She received the portrait of her and her dog from the 3.11 Portrait Project, which was conceived by photographer Nobuyuki Kobayashi. He takes portraits of earthquake survivors in Tohoku, many of whom lost all of their family pictures in the March 11, 2011 disaster. Yuriko Nakao/Reuters
Factory worker Joji Kumagaya tests a Geiger counter in Otama Village, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, March 7, 2012. The factory produces reasonable Geiger counters named 'Geiger Fukushima' for people in Fukushima nearly one year after a tsunami-hit nuclear power plant began spewing radiation. Koji Ueda/AP
People listened to speeches during the Ishinomaki memorial service honoring the 5,500 people from this city who have been confirmed dead or who are still missing. Cleanup and reconstruction continued in Ishinomaki, Japan, on June 18, 2011. Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
Yoshiko Sugawara, a tsunami survivor, cried as her niece leaves on a boat named 'Sunflower' from the island of Oshima for the mainland March 25, 2011. The Sunflower brought food, clothing, and family members to isolated victims of the earthquake and tsunami on Japan's Oshima Island off the northeastern Sanriku coast. For the survivors, the boat is the only connection between their island and the city of Kesennuma on Japan's main island, which is usually 25 minutes away by ferry. Damir Sagolj/Reuters
Yudai Kazuhido practiced his swing while wearing his baseball team uniform outside his mini house in Ishinomaki last year. Many families who lost their homes in the tsunami and qualify for housing can live for free in these little, connected houses for two years. Each mini house comes with a TV, washing machine, refrigerator, kettle, cooker, microwave, futons, pillows, and blankets. Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
Kazuko Kobayashi's family albums were damaged by the tsunami. She and her husband rode out the wave on the second floor of their home, but now are living in a shelter. Cleanup and reconstruction continues in Ishinomaki, Japan, on June 17, 2011, after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
Members of United Kennel Club Japan (UKC Japan) cared for pets rescued from inside the exclusion zone around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, at the group's pet shelter in Samukawa town, Kanagawa prefecture Jan. 25, 2012. Issei Kato/Reuters
Stranded commuters wrapped themselves in blankets bracing for chilly evening at a park in Yokohama, near Tokyo, following a strong earthquake that hit eastern Japan, March 11, 2011. Shuji Kajiyama/AP
A Japanese home adrift in the Pacific Ocean, days after a massive earthquake and tsunami hit Japan's east coast, March 13, 2011. Scientists believe ocean waves carried away 3-4 million tons of the 20 million tons of debris created by the tsunami that slammed into Japan after a magnitude-9.0 earthquake nearly a year ago. Dylan McCord/AP
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/22
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/21
In Pictures: Sinkholes around the world
In Pictures: What happened to the green revolution in Iran?
In Pictures: Facing the devastation of the Oklahoma tornadoes
In Pictures: Sandy: Chronicle of an unrelenting storm
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/20
In Pictures: Weather extremes 2013
In Pictures: The Israeli separation barrier: A West Bank wall
Coming so soon after Sunday’s tunnel collapse raised questions about Japan's infrastructure, the absence of major damage from today's quake shows Japan’s level of preparedness for them.
For thousands of people living in the region of Japan devastated by last year’s triple disaster, Friday’s earthquake served as an unwelcome reminder of their vulnerability to sudden, violent seismic shifts – and as a warning to the rest of the country.
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