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Forest fire in northeastern Japan

Photo taken from a Kyodo News airplane on Feb. 28, 2025, shows buildings believed to have burned down in a forest fire that broke out on a mountain in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture in northeastern Japan, on Feb. 26.

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Forest fire in northeastern Japan

A helicopter drops water on Feb. 27, 2025, to extinguish a forest fire that started the day before on a mountain in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture in northeastern Japan.

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Forest fire in northeastern Japan

A helicopter drops water on Feb. 27, 2025, to extinguish a forest fire that started the day before on a mountain in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture in northeastern Japan.

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Forest fire in northeastern Japan

Photo taken from a Kyodo News airplane shows a forest fire in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Feb. 21, 2025.

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Forest fire in northeastern Japan

Photo taken from a Kyodo News airplane shows a forest fire in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Feb. 21, 2025.

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Forest fire in northeastern Japan

Photo taken from a Kyodo News airplane shows a forest fire in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Feb. 21, 2025.

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Ex-J-leaguer becomes teacher at alma mater

MORIOKA, Japan - Yosuke Nakata, a former J-League soccer player, is seen in this photo. He became a teacher and soccer coach in April 2014 at his alma mater Ofunato High School in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan. Northeastern Japan was hit by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

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Saury unloaded at Ofunato fish market

OFUNATO, Japan - A catch of saury is unloaded at a fishing port in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Aug. 29, 2014. The fish market facility, completed in April this year, was hit by the devastating earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 while it was under construction.

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3 plaques of AKB48 group missing at Iwate Pref. station

MORIOKA, Japan - Plaques made of scallop shells hanging in a waiting room of Koishihama Station on the Sanriku Railway Co.'s Minami Rias Line in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, are seen in this photo taken on May 29, 2014. Three plaques on which members of popular Japanese all-girl pop group AKB48, including Mayu Watanabe, wrote some messages went missing recently.

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Man wishing to nurture wine culture in Ofunato

SENDAI, Japan - Takehiro Oikawa, owner of Three Peaks Winery, touches a grapevine he planted in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 15, 2014. He hopes to propagate wine and wine culture in the area.

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Tsunami-damaged 8-mm film in Iwate Pref.

SENDAI, Japan - An 8-millimeter film damaged by the March 2011 tsunami is pictured on March 20, 2014, in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture. A group led by Junji Ito, a specially appointed professor at Tokyo University of the Arts, is collecting 8-mm films and other media that record sceneries of Ofunato before the disaster.

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Group in Iwate Pref. collecting pre-disaster records

SENDAI, Japan - Daisuke Miyoshi (L), a part-time instructor at Tokyo University of the Arts, collects 8-millimeter film and other media from Naotake Sato, who runs a photo studio in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on March 20, 2014. Miyoshi is a member of a group led by Junji Ito, a specially appointed professor at Tokyo University of the Arts, which is collecting 8-mm film and other media that record the scenery of Ofunato before the March 2011 disaster.

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3 years after quake-tsunami

SENDAI, Japan - Photos taken from Kyodo News helicopter show an area of Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on March 13, 2011 (top), two days after the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, and on Feb. 27, 2014 (bottom).

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U.S. students visit tsunami-hit city

OFUNATO, Japan - Students (center, R) from Del Norte High School in Crescent City, California, and a student from Takata High School in Japan's Iwate Prefecture, jointly make "hittsumi," a soup dish representative of the local cuisine, at the Japanese school's temporary facility in Ofunato, Iwate, on Feb. 18, 2014. A group of high school students from northern California visited their peers in the tsunami-hit northeastern Japanese city after helping return to the Japanese high school a boat that was washed across the Pacific Ocean after the March 2011 earthquake.

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U.S. students visit tsunami-hit city

OFUNATO, Japan - A student (L) from Del Norte High School in Crescent City, California, and a student from Takata High School in Japan's Iwate Prefecture, eat "hittsumi," a soup dish representative of the local cuisine, that they made together at the Japanese school's temporary facility in Ofunato, Iwate, on Feb. 18, 2014. A group of high school students from northern California visited their peers in the tsunami-hit northeastern Japanese city after helping return to the Japanese high school a boat that was washed across the Pacific Ocean after the March 2011 earthquake.

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Mickey Mouse in disaster area

OFUNATO, Japan - Mickey Mouse and some other Disney characters parade on Sept. 7, 2013 in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, a city hit hard by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.

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Mickey Mouse in disaster area

OFUNATO, Japan - Mickey Mouse and some other Disney characters parade on Sept. 7, 2013 in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, a city hit hard by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.

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2 and a half years after quake

SENDAI, Japan - Combination photos taken from a Kyodo News helicopter show the downtown area of Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on March 19, 2011 (top), soon after the March 11, 2011, Great East Japan Earthquake, and about two and a half years later on Sept. 6, 2013 (bottom).

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Emperor, empress visit disaster-hit cement plant

OFUNATO, Japan - Emperor Akihito (L) and Empress Michiko are seen during their visit to a plant that uses rubble from the March 2011 earthquake and disaster to produce cement in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on July 5, 2013.

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Emperor, empress visit disaster-hit cement plant

OFUNATO, Japan - Emperor Akihito (far L, front) and Empress Michiko (next to emperor) visit a plant that uses rubble from the March 2011 earthquake and disaster to produce cement in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on July 5, 2013.

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Indonesian priest in quake-damage area

OFUNATO, Japan - Indonesian priest Antonius Harnoko (C) talks with local foreign residents after Mass on Nov. 18, 2012 in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture.

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Indonesian priest in quake-damage area

OFUNATO, Japan - Indonesian priest Antonius Harnoko (L) chats with a local resident at a makeshift meeting place near his church in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Nov. 6, 2012.

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Foreign wives in tsunami-hit area find comfort in church support

OFUNATO, Japan - Yukie Nogami (3rd from R), a sister of the Rome-headquartered Institute of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, joins a post-Mass event, surrounded by Gina Konishi (3rd from L), Jocelyn Sumigama (bottom) and their friends at a Catholic church in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Nov. 18, 2012. (Photo by Yuichiro Izawa)

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Foreign wives in tsunami-hit area find comfort in church support

OFUNATO, Japan - Gina Konishi gets on-the-job training to become a caretaker at a nursing home for visually impaired elderly Shofuen in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Nov. 6, 2012. (Photo by Yuichiro Izawa)

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Ofunato soon after quake, now

TOKYO, Japan - Photos taken from a Kyodo News helicopter show an area in the city of Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on March 13, 2011 (top), shortly after the area was devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and the same location on March 1, 2012 (bottom), in which debris has mostly been removed.

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Space probe Hayabusa capsule at tsunami-hit city

OFUNATO, Japan - Children view a capsule brought back to Earth by Japan's Hayabusa unmanned space probe in 2010 at an exhibition in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Jan. 19, 2012. The exhibition featuring the capsule and other items from Hayabusa began that day in a bid to lift residents' spirits as the city tries to recover from the March 11 tsunami.

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Space probe Hayabusa capsule at tsunami-hit city

OFUNATO, Japan - Children view a capsule brought back to Earth by Japan's Hayabusa unmanned space probe in 2010 at an exhibition in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Jan. 19, 2012. The exhibition featuring the capsule and other items from Hayabusa began that day in a bid to lift residents' spirits as the city tries to recover from the March 11 tsunami.

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Actor Watanabe in disaster-hit Iwate

OFUNATO, Japan - Japanese actor Ken Watanabe (C) heads for the stage on Jan. 14, 2012, in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, at a preview of the film ''Hayabusa -- Harukanaru Kikan,'' about the project in which the Hayabusa space probe successfully returned to Earth. Watanabe, who played the leading part in the film, encouraged the people from areas hit hard by last March's natural disasters.

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Actor Watanabe in disaster-hit Iwate

OFUNATO, Japan - Japanese actor Ken Watanabe speaks to the audience on Jan. 14, 2012, in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, at a preview of the film ''Hayabusa -- Harukanaru Kikan,'' about the project in which the Hayabusa space probe successfully returned to Earth. Watanabe, who played the leading part in the film, encouraged the people from areas hit hard by last March's natural disasters.

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Coming-of-Age ceremony in disaster-hit Iwate Pref.

OFUNATO, Japan - Women in kimono observe a moment of silence during a ceremony on Jan. 7, 2012, held ahead of the Coming-of-Age Day on Jan. 9., in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, areas hit by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

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Christmas tree in tsunami-hit Ofunato

OFUNATO, Japan - A Christmas tree is illuminated in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, in northeastern Japan, on Dec. 6, 2011. The tree was set up by Meiji University the previous day in the city devastated by the March 11 tsunami.

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Baseball legend Cal Ripken Jr. in Japan

OFUNATO, Japan - Major league Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. (C, facing) holds a baseball clinic for junior high school students in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Nov. 10, 2011. The U.S. baseball legend held the event to support children in areas affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

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Baseball legend Cal Ripken Jr. in Japan

OFUNATO, Japan - Major league Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. (L front) holds a baseball clinic for junior high school students in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Nov. 10, 2011. The U.S. baseball legend held the event to support children in areas affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

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Baseball legend Cal Ripken Jr. in Japan

OFUNATO, Japan - Major league Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. (front) holds a baseball clinic for junior high school students in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Nov. 10, 2011. The U.S. baseball legend held the event to support children in areas affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

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Making dried persimmons in disaster-hit Ofunato

OFUNATO, Japan - Fruits from persimmon trees in an area hit by the March 11 tsunami are dried Nov. 9, 2011, in front of a gathering place at a temporary housing site in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, for people affected by the disaster.

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Iwate duo sings of hope of 'returning home' after disaster

OFUNATO, Japan - Kazuya Satomi (L) and Jun Sugawara of the musical duo Lawblow stand in a disaster-hit area of Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Sept. 7, 2011. A song they wrote and perform has become popular among locals by expressing hope of a return to normal daily life in their home area, which was devastated by the March 11 quake and disaster.

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Hopes for reconstruction written on '1,000 scallop shells'

OFUNATO, Japan - Photo taken on Aug. 31, 2011 shows 1,000 origami paper ornaments folded in the shape of scallop shells decorating Koishihama station in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture. Local people used to use real shells from farmed scallops, on which they wrote their wishes, but the scallop farming industry, along with the rail track, was devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Visitors to the station, which has been out of operation since March 11, now write their wishes for the reconstruction of the area on the paper shells.

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Colorful temporary barber shop in tsunami-hit Ofunato

OFUNATO, Japan - Photo taken on Sept. 4, 2011, shows a colorful temporary barber shop called ''New Shimizu'' in a coastal area ravaged by the massive March 11 tsunami in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture. An artist and volunteers painted the building as the barber, Yasuo Shimizu (L), wanted it to be cheerful and encouraging to local people.

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6 months after Japan quake, tsunami

OFUNATO, Japan - Photos taken from a Kyodo News helicopter of the downtown area of Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, (from top) on March 13, June 3 and Sept. 5, 2011, show that debris in the area, hit by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, has almost been cleared away.

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Iwate's Ofunato 1st saury shipments since disaster

OFUNATO, Japan - Workers pack saury into boxes in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Sept. 5, 2011. Fishermen in the city on the same day sent off their first direct shipments of saury this season, seeing it as a symbol of recovery from the devastating earthquake and tsunami in March.

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Memorial service held in Ofunato, Iwate Pref.

OFUNATO, Japan - People attend a memorial service for victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami held in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Sept. 3, 2011, ahead of the day marking six months from the disaster.

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Saury noodles in quake-hit Iwate

OFUNATO, Japan - Worker at a rest house holds ''samma ramen,'' or saury noodles, in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on July 22, 2011. Local restaurants jointly devised samma ramen as a specialty, hoping to use the dish to promote the fishing city hit by the March earthquake and tsunami.

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U.S. envoy Roos in disaster-hit Iwate Pref.

OFUNATO, Japan - U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos (L) receives a mask from a volunteer worker before taking part in a volunteer project at a car dealer in earthquake- and tsunami-hit Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on June 28, 2011. Roos visited the northeastern Japan prefecture, where one of two American teachers confirmed dead in the disaster had been working, to show continued U.S. support for the areas.

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U.S. envoy in disaster area

OFUNATO, Japan - U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos listens to Japanese firefighters who cooperated with a U.S. relief team at a firefighting station in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on June 28, 2011. The envoy visited the prefecture, where one of two American teachers confirmed dead in the March quake and tsunami disaster had been working.

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Divers clean sea in tsunami-hit Ofunato

OFUNATO, Japan - Combination photo shows items found on the seabed off a fishing port in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, that were apparently swept into the waters by the March 11 quake-triggered tsunami, on June 15, 2011. (From top left, clockwise) A videogame, stove, CD, signboard, shoe, electric saw.

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Divers clean sea in tsunami-hit Ofunato

OFUNATO, Japan - A scuba diver retrieves ropes and fishing equipment which were swept into the sea by the March 11 quake-triggered tsunami, from the seabed off a fishing port in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on June 15, 2011. Divers are helping remove rubble which has been swept into the sea by the disaster.

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Divers clean sea in tsunami-hit Ofunato

OFUNATO, Japan - A scuba diver examines a damaged car which was swept into the sea by the March 11 quake-triggered tsunami, on the seabed off a fishing port in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on June 14, 2011. Divers are helping remove rubble which has been swept into the sea by the disaster.

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Divers clean seabed in tsunami-hit Ofunato

OFUNATO, Japan - A scuba diver is enveloped in a cloud of dirt as he retrieves rubble from the seabed off Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, which was struck by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, on June 15, 2011. Divers are helping remove rubble which has been swept into the sea by the disaster.

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Divers help rebuild aquafarm in Ofunato

OFUNATO, Japan - Scuba divers cut ''wakame'' brown seaweed in the water off Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, for fishermen to extract spores to use to restart the city's aquafarming operation, on June 14, 2011.

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Divers clean sea in tsunami-hit Ofunato

OFUNATO, Japan - A volunteer worker pulls a fishing equipment retrieved from the seabed by a scuba diver, onto a quay in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, which was struck by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, on June 14, 2011. Divers are helping remove rubble which has been swept into the sea by the disaster.