Japan marked on Sunday the one year anniversary of the devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami which killed almost 15,000 people on March 11, 2011.

The 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami in Japan claimed at least 14,919 lives and triggered a number of explosions at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, causing a partial meltdown at three of its reactors. Radiation leaked into the atmosphere, soil and seawater, becoming the world's worst nuclear disaster after Chernobyl.
A mourning ceremony held in Tokyo was attended by Japanese Emperor Akihito, who had recently had heart surgery.
The ceremony with one minute of silence was declared at 14:46 (06:46 GMT) throughout all of Japan.
Flowers for the ceremony were planted in the quake-hit areas, Miyagi, Fukushima and Iwate.