Noguchi Thanks World For Support 10 Years Ago
A Japanese astronaut on board the International Space Station has thanked the global community for supporting areas in eastern and northeastern Japan devastated by the deadly earthquake and tsunami disaster on March 11, 2011.
The video of Noguchi Soichi reading out a message from disaster survivors was uploaded to the internet early Thursday, exactly 10 years after the calamity.
The footage, taken in cooperation with Japan's space agency, JAXA, was co-produced by 42 municipalities in northeastern Japan and others, including supporters of the disaster-stricken region.
The message in Japanese was accompanied by English subtitles, which read, "On those days of despair, the support delivered by everyone around the world was nothing but our hope."
"Thanks to everyone around the world we can now imagine a future full of smiles."
The video also showed a banner one meter long and 7 meters wide with the message "Thank you" written in more than 70 languages, alongside photos of children in the region, as well as photos of ongoing reconstruction efforts.
Rescue personnel from across the globe flew in to Japan following the March 11 disaster.
Japan's Foreign Ministry says supplies and donations arrived from 128 countries and regions, as well as international institutions.