A monument was erected at the municipal office of Minamisanriku, a town in Miyagi Prefecture, on Sunday to commemorate officials who lost their lives in the massive tsunami 14 years ago.
The monument inscribes the names of 37 town officials who died while working following the March 11, 2011, Great East Japan Earthquake and the subsequent tsunami, including by calling on residents to evacuate.
"I hope that the lessons of the disaster will be passed on to future generations," said Aya Inoue, 33, a company worker from Tokyo who lost her older brother, Tasuku, in the disaster. Her brother was in his first year of employment as a Minamisanriku town official at the time of the tsunami.
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