Japan: Team Europe expresses solidary with Fukushima on 13th anniversary of Great East Japan Earthquake
On 11 March, the European Union (EU) Ambassador to Japan together with the Ambassadors and other representatives of the EU Member States travelled to the city of Fukushima for a memorial event organised by Fukushima Prefecture to commemorate the 13th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 2011.
During the ceremony, the EU Ambassadors offered jointly as ‘Team Europe’ a floral tribute, showing their solidary with the victims of the disaster and their continued support for the revitalisation of the affected regions.
Team Europe also visited the Fukushima Municipal Regional Wholesale Market to better understand how local fresh produce, including seafood, finds its way to retailers and, ultimately, consumers. Fukushima Governor Masao Uchibori, who met with the Ambassadors at the market, expressed gratitude for the EU’s lifting of import restrictions on prefectural products in August 2023, saying that the move ‘greatly encouraged’ the people of Fukushima.
EU Ambassador Jean-Eric Paquet paid tribute to Fukushima’s resilience, adding that the EU would remain engaged in supporting the prefecture as it continues to recover from the triple disaster.
See the full recording of the 13th Fukushima Memorial Event to Commemorate the Victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake in Prayer for Revitalisation, with the EU floral tribute beginning around 1°01′.