On March 11, 2011, north-east Japan was struck by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake. The tremors sparked a tsunami that swept away towns and cities and even caused a nuclear emergency as it hit a power plant.
The disaster left more than 20,000 people dead or missing, and many areas are still recovering.
See how the rebuild and recovery effort has progressed over the past decade below.
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant
The tsunami triggered by the earthquake slammed into the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, destroying its power and cooling systems and triggering meltdowns at three reactors.
Ten years later, as the photo on the left shows, the recovery efforts are still under way. Last week, a fuel pool that had been damaged and left uncovered after the disaster, was removed. The photo taken in 2021 shows how little rebuilding had been achieved at the plant. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga visited Fukushima on March 6, promising to accelerate decontamination efforts so all remaining no-go zones can be reopened. He did not give a timeline.
Some areas up to 10 kilometres from Fukushima Daiichi are still a no-go zone.
Tagajo, Miyagi prefecture
Two days after the tsunami swept hundreds of towns away, streets in the area of Tagajo, Miyagi prefecture, remained flooded. The area recovered its manufacturing capabilities to pre-disaster levels in 2013, and the economy grew by 19 per cent between 2010 and 2018.
Today, the area, pictured on January 25 this year, almost looks like the tsunami never happened, but over the past decade the population there has shrunk 2.5 per cent. In the aftermath, local government built 532 apartments in Tagajo to house those who had lost everything, a decision some say made residents isolated from their communities.
Otsuchi, Iwate prefecture
The photo taken on April 6 2011, as the whole of Japan still reeled from the tsunami, shows the extent of devastation coastal communities experienced.
Houses washed away as water and debris rushed into the town of Otsuchi.
The town, pictured this January on the right-hand slide, features a white phone booth where residents 'call' those dead and lost as part of the grieving process.
The phone booth was built by Itaru Sasaki, who owns the garden in Otsuchi, about 500 kilometres northeast of Tokyo, a few months before the disaster, after he lost his cousin to cancer.
Minamisanriku, Miyagi province
Minamisanriku lost 800 residents in the tsunami, and has sprung back in an unusual fashion.
Nine staff at Minami Sanriku Hotel Kanyo have lead daily hour-long bus tours showing the sites of devastation and talking about their experiences.
The bus stops at a former school that was damaged by the tsunami, a disaster prevention centre where 43 workers died and a former wedding ceremony hall.
Since the tours began, they have had about 400,000 participants.
Kesennuma, Miyagi prefecture
Kesennuma, on the coast of Sanriku is famous for its plentiful fishing grounds. In the immediate aftermath of the tsunami, a trawler was left grounded in the town, pictured above.
The city lost 1,246 of its residents and the rebuilding effort has been long and arduous. But today, pictured on the right, the city is working on attracting tourists.
The nearby Karakawa Penisula Visitor Centre features an exhibition dedicated to the tsunami and its impact on the area.
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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T20 SQUADS
Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.
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The years Ramadan fell in May
Four tips to secure IoT networks
Mohammed Abukhater, vice president at FireEye in the Middle East, said:
- Keep device software up-to-date. Most come with basic operating system, so users should ensure that they always have the latest version
- Besides a strong password, use two-step authentication. There should be a second log-in step like adding a code sent to your mobile number
- Usually smart devices come with many unnecessary features. Users should lock those features that are not required or used frequently
- Always create a different guest network for visitors
The%20specs
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The%20Beekeeper
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PROFILE
Name: Enhance Fitness
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 200
Amount raised: $3m
Investors: Global Ventures and angel investors
England World Cup squad
Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wkt), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
The bio
Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions
School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira
Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk
Dream City: San Francisco
Hometown: Dubai
City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala
Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder MHEV
Power: 360bhp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh282,870
On sale: now