Japan marks 2nd anniversary of triple disaster

TOKYO (AP) — Japan is marking the second anniversary of its earthquake, tsunami and nuclear catastrophe. More than 300,000 people are still displaced and virtually no rebuilding has begun.

Memorial services are planned Monday in Tokyo and in barren towns along the battered northeastern coast to coincide the moment the magnitude-9.0 earthquake — the strongest recorded in Japan's history — struck, unleashing a massive tsunami that killed nearly 19,000 people.

Some 160,000 evacuees remain uncertain if they will ever be able to return to abandoned homes around the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, where rectors melted down after the tsunami.

On Monday, about 800 people plan to file a lawsuit against the government and utility owner demanding compensation and that all land and homes be restored to their state before March 11, 2011.

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Christchurch marks 2nd anniversary of deadly quake

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — The New Zealand city of Christchurch is commemorating the second anniversary of an earthquake that destroyed thousands of homes and killed 185 people.

Several hundred people gathered for a memorial service in Latimer Square, near where 115 died when a six-story office building collapsed during the magnitude-6.1 quake. Others placed flowers in road cones or tossed them into the Avon River to commemorate those who died.

Speaking at the event, Prime Minister John Key focused on rebuilding efforts. He said he understands there's frustration at the time it's taking to get homes rebuilt, but that in a few years, Christchurch will be "one of the best and most livable cities in the world."

People around New Zealand observed two minutes' silence at 12:51 p.m., the time the quake struck.

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