At 2:46 p.m., a siren sounded to mark the exact time the quake struck ... as people across Japan paused to observe a moment of silence for the thousands lives lost nine years after a major earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident struck the country's northeast.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Cabinet members did the same in Tokyo.
People in Japan are taking a moment today to remember the lives lost nine years after a magnitude-9 earthquake struck the country triggering a tsunami and nuclear accident. 15,899 people died and more than 2,529 remain missing.
Early Wednesday morning, people in the disaster stricken Tohoku region gathered to pray for the souls of the victims.