Tsunami memorial

Tsunami memorial

OTSUCHI, Japan - Photo on March 26, 2013, shows the former town hall of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, damaged by a tsunami in the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Otsuchi Mayor Yutaka Ikarigawa expressed an intention on March 27, 2013, to preserve part of the building as a memorial.

Tsunami memorial

Tsunami memorial

OTSUCHI, Japan - Photo on Feb. 18, 2013, shows the former town hall of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, damaged by a tsunami in the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Otsuchi Mayor Yutaka Ikarigawa expressed an intention on March 27, 2013, to preserve part of the building as a memorial.

2 years after quake in Tohoku

2 years after quake in Tohoku

MORIOKA, Japan - Yutaka Ikarigawa (R), mayor of Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture, breaks the ground during a ceremony to pray for safety at the start of construction of post-disaster public housing in the town on Feb. 25, 2013.

New mayor of tsunami-hit Otsuchi

New mayor of tsunami-hit Otsuchi

OTSUCHI, Japan - Yutaka Ikarigawa (C) shakes hands with a supporter after winning the mayoral election in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, on Aug. 28, 2011. The election was held to fill the vacancy left by the death of Mayor Koki Kato, who was killed in the March earthquake and tsunami.

Groundbreaking ceremony for new school in tsunami-hit town

Groundbreaking ceremony for new school in tsunami-hit town

A groundbreaking ceremony is conducted in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, on Feb. 12, 2015, to mark the start of construction of a primary-cum-secondary school building. (From L) Elementary schooler Mana Saito, Otsuchi Mayor Yutaka Ikarigawa and junior high schooler Kinnosuke Hakoyama. The town was devastated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that hit the northeastern Japan region of Tohoku. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

New mayor of tsunami-hit Otsuchi

New mayor of tsunami-hit Otsuchi

OTSUCHI, Japan - Yutaka Ikarigawa (C) shakes hands with a supporter after winning the mayoral election in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, on Aug. 28, 2011. The election was held to fill the vacancy left by the death of Mayor Koki Kato, who was killed in the March earthquake and tsunami. (Kyodo)