TORONTO - A solemn crowd gathered in Toronto to honour the thousands killed or displaced by last year's devastating earthquake in Japan.
Many teared up during the afternoon ceremony at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre.
All bowed their heads in silence at precisely 2:46 p.m. -- the time the quake hit on March 11, 2011.
The 9.0-magnitude earthquake set off a massive tsunami that ravaged the island country's northeastern coast.
More than 19,000 people were killed in the disaster and thousands more went missing.
The tremors triggered multiple meltdowns at the Fukushima power plant in Okuma, unleashing the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years.
Efforts to rebuild battered coastal communities and clean up contaminated land have been sluggish, and some 325,000 people remain in temporary housing.
People across Japan marked the somber anniversary today with a moment of silence.
Meanwhile, anti-nuclear activists stepped up calls to end the country's reliance on nuclear power with a rally at Tokyo Electric Power Co., the Fukushima plant's operator.
