Pictures: Japan Tsunami, Then and Now

After: Picking up the Pieces

Photograph by Toru Hanai, Reuters

Cars and buses drive down a street in Miyako, Japan, in a photograph taken on February 17, 2012, nearly one year after tsunami waves crashed over the coastal city's seawall.

The twin quake and tsunami disaster, Japan's worst crisis since World War II, has now left at least 9,079 people dead and 12,645 missing, with entire communities along the northeast coast swept away.

The Japanese government is working to rebuild affected areas, but not fast enough for some.

"I feel it is very slow," Mayama said.

(See a rare video of the Japan tsunami.)

Published March 9, 2012

Before: Deadly Waves

Photograph from Miyako City Office via Reuters

A wave from the Japan tsunami washes over a seawall in Miyako in this photograph taken on March 11, 2011.

The deadly earthquake-tsunami combination also triggered reactor meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, sparking fears of radiation exposure around the globe.

Japanese photographer Mayama visited the power plant earlier this year and said the accident still looks fresh.

"It looks the way it did just after the explosion," he said. "We had to wear heavy protective suits and gas masks ... It was terrible."

(See "Pictures: The Nuclear Cleanup Struggle at Fukushima.")

Published March 9, 2012

After: No Trace of Tsunami

Photograph by Toru Hanai, Reuters

A year after the Japan earthquake, a seawall in Miyako shows few traces of having been breached by a tsunami.

But it's what people can't see that may be the most worrisome legacy of the March 11 earthquake. For instance, the reactor's meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has many concerned about being exposed to radiation from contaminated food and water.

(See "Radiation in Japan Seas: Risk of Animal Death, Mutation?")

Published March 9, 2012

Before: Tsunami-Tossed Boat

Photograph by Kimimasa Mayama, European Pressphoto Agency

A tsunami-tossed boat tossed by giant waves lies atop a building in the city of Otsuchi in northern Japan on May 7, 2011.

The day after the earthquake struck, Mayama was in the city of Yamato documenting the destruction when a woman approached him and led him to the mangled wreck of a car where her dead daughter was trapped.

Despite the devastation around them and no help in sight, she and her husband couldn't leave, and she continued to brush the girl's hair with a comb. "I could see only the hair," Mayama said. "She said it's my daughter, it's my daughter."

The woman explained that she had approached Mayama because she wanted him to take pictures to document their loss. "I've never forgotten that," Mayama said.

One year later, Mayama said he is still searching for the woman so he can give her the photographs.

(Learn how you can help Japan-earthquake victims.)

Published March 9, 2012

After: Deserted Town

Photograph by Kimimasa Mayama, European Pressphoto Agency

The stranded boat and much of the debris in Otsuchi left behind by the tsunami has been cleared away in this picture taken on February 15, 2012, by Mayama.

"The town is clean and the debris has been removed," Mayama said, "but there are no people living there."

(See "Japan Tsunami-Debris Cruise Attracts Travelers to Ocean Garbage Patch.")

Published March 9, 2012

Before: Climbing the Rubble

Photograph by Kimimasa Mayama, European Pressphoto Agency

An elderly couple climbs over debris while walking toward their house in the tsunami-devastated city of Kesennuma in northern Japan on March 14, 2011, a few days after the earthquake hit.

Mayama predicts it will be several years before some of the towns and cities affected by the disasters can return to a semblance of what they once were.

Part of the reason, he said, is that many "people can't rebuild houses or offices at the same places because they are waiting for permission from the government, which has imposed new building restrictions."

(See blog: "The Fukushima Accident's Legacy One Year Later.")

Published March 9, 2012

After: Abandoned Rails

Photograph by Kimimasa Mayama, European Pressphoto Agency

A railway in the northern Japanese city of Kesennuma is clear once again in a photograph taken February 16, 2012.

One year ago, the same stretch of track was blocked by debris and a car that had been washed there by an earthquake-triggered tsunami.

(See "How Is Japan's Nuclear Disaster Different?")

Published March 9, 2012

Before: Car on a Roof

Photograph by Carlos Barria, Reuters

Deposited by waves, a car lies atop an abandoned building in Minamisanriku last March.

While large cities such as Sendai have been able to bounce back from the Japan earthquake and tsunami, smaller coastal cities such as Otsuchi are still devastated, Mayama said.

"In some of the towns and cities, there is nothing," he said. "No buildings, no houses. Nobody lives or works there."

(See "Japan Tsunami Pictures: Nuclear Reactor and Cities Burn.")

Published March 9, 2012

After: Car Still on a Roof

Photograph by Toru Hanai, Reuters

A car tossed by waves is still sitting on the roof of a Minamisanriku building a year later, as seen on February 21, 2012—though the building is in better shape.

"It's funny, but I don't think anyone cares," Mayama said.

(See "Tsunami Waves Hit U.S.—Some Damage in Hawaii, California.")

Published March 9, 2012

Before: Devastated City

Photograph by Nicolas Asfouri, AFP/Getty Images

Night falls on Rikuzentakata, a city destroyed by the Japan tsunami and earthquake, in a long-exposure photograph taken March 22, 2011.

Mayama said the disasters have instilled a strong mistrust among many Japanese for nuclear power experts, many of whom were vague about the extent of the damage sustained at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant following the accident.

(Related: "One Year After Fukushima, Japan Faces Shortages of Energy, Trust.")

Published March 9, 2012

After: Ghost Town

Photograph by Toru Yamanaka, AFP/Getty Images

A car drives along a road in Rikuzentakata on January 15, 2012, nearly one year after the March 11 Japan earthquake and tsunami devastated the area.

Mayama said he hopes his country will be better prepared should a similar disaster strike, but he has his doubts.

"I hope so. Everybody hopes so. But I wonder if we can prepare for the next one. Preparation takes much time and much money," he said.

(See "Pictures: The Nuclear Cleanup Struggle at Fukushima.")

Published March 9, 2012

Next: Japan Tsunami: 20 Unforgettable Pictures >>

Photograph by David Guttenfelder, AP

Published March 9, 2012