3rd anniversary of major tsunami

TOKYO (AP) — Today, Japan marks the third anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that left some 19,000 people either dead or missing, turned coastal communities into wasteland and triggered a nuclear crisis.

In northern Japan, some tsunami survivors held their own memorial events for their loved ones already today.

A 57-year-old Japanese man is learning how to scuba dive in hopes of finding the remains of his wife, who was lost in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Yasuo Takamatsu's wife was at her office when the magnitude 9.0 quake that spawned the tsunami struck offshore. She sent him an email about a half hour later, and that was the last time Takamatsu heard from her.

More than 2,600 people remain missing, their bodies presumable swept out to sea.