As Fukushima memory fades, Japan's nuclear power proponents hope for reset

A man performs to mourn the victims of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami at a gathering to pay a silent tribute on the 11th anniversary of the events that killed thousands and set off a nuclear crisis, in Tokyo, Japan March 11, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

TOKYO (Reuters) - For the first time since a massive earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima nuclear power plant in 2011 and killed nearly 16,000 people, Japan held no state memorial for the disaster anniversary on Friday.

On the eve of the 11th anniversary of the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, some ruling party lawmakers urged the government to hasten the restart of nuclear power plants, most of them idled since 2011 because of safety concerns.