<p>About 2,000 people observed a moment's silence at a public gymnasium in Minamisanriku in memory of 900 people who were killed in the March disaster, which also destroyed 60 per cent of the town's buildings.<br /><br />It was one of a string of events planned along the Pacific Coast which was ravaged by huge waves following the 9.0-magnitude tremor that struck 130 kilometres offshore at 2:46 pm on March 11.<br /><br />"We never give up hope and vow to unite as one in building a new town so that we can make up for the sacrifice of precious lives of many people," Minamisanriku mayor Hitoshi Sato said at the remembrance service.<br /><br />The destructive waves also sparked meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, sparking an ongoing nuclear crisis.<br /><br />In Tokyo and elsewhere, rallies were planned to protest against nuclear power following the Fukushima crisis, the worst nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.<br /><br />The six-month anniversary of the quake-tsunami came amid embarrassment for Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's new government after trade minister Yoshio Hachiro resigned on yesterday over remarks deemed insensitive to Fukushima evacuees.<br /><br />After touring the Fukushima plant and the no-go zone with Noda on Thursday, Hachiro described the plant's neighbourhood as a "town of death."</p>
<p>About 2,000 people observed a moment's silence at a public gymnasium in Minamisanriku in memory of 900 people who were killed in the March disaster, which also destroyed 60 per cent of the town's buildings.<br /><br />It was one of a string of events planned along the Pacific Coast which was ravaged by huge waves following the 9.0-magnitude tremor that struck 130 kilometres offshore at 2:46 pm on March 11.<br /><br />"We never give up hope and vow to unite as one in building a new town so that we can make up for the sacrifice of precious lives of many people," Minamisanriku mayor Hitoshi Sato said at the remembrance service.<br /><br />The destructive waves also sparked meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, sparking an ongoing nuclear crisis.<br /><br />In Tokyo and elsewhere, rallies were planned to protest against nuclear power following the Fukushima crisis, the worst nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.<br /><br />The six-month anniversary of the quake-tsunami came amid embarrassment for Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's new government after trade minister Yoshio Hachiro resigned on yesterday over remarks deemed insensitive to Fukushima evacuees.<br /><br />After touring the Fukushima plant and the no-go zone with Noda on Thursday, Hachiro described the plant's neighbourhood as a "town of death."</p>