Rebuilding Japan

Demolished ships lie strewn about near the fishing port of Minamisanriku town, in Miyagi prefecture, northeastern Japan, Feb. 23, 2012. The local fisherman's union says last year's tsunami wiped out 90 percent of local fishing boats. Yuriko Makao/Reuters /Landov hide caption

A liquefied natural gas tanker arrives at a gas storage station east of Tokyo on April 6, 2009. The shuttering of Japan's nuclear power plants has driven an increased reliance on natural gas and other fossil fuels. AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Students at Tohoku Chosen, an elementary and junior high school for North Koreans in Sendai City, now take dance classes in the school's cafeteria because their main building was destroyed when the earthquake struck northeast Japan last March. Doualy Xaykaothao/NPR hide caption

Members of the media, wearing protective suits and masks, visit the tsunami-crippled Fukushima nuclear power station during a press tour, in northeastern Japan's Fukushima prefecture, Feb. 28. Japan is marking the first anniversary of the March 11 tsunami and earthquake, which triggered the worst nuclear accident in the country's history. Kimimasa Mayama/AP hide caption

A worker is given a radiation screening as he enters the emergency operation center at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s tsunami-crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant on Feb. 20. AFP/Getty Images hide caption

A woman picks carrots on her farm as she explains her fears that no one will buy them since the radiation fallout in March 2011 in Fukushima, Japan. A year later, challenges persist for farmers in the region. Wally Santana/AP hide caption

After the earthquake, workers were sent inside Reactor 1 at the Fukushima plant to release some of the pressure building up inside the reactors. Frontline hide caption

A 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck Japan offshore on March 11, setting into motion a tsunami that engulfed large parts of northeastern Japan and triggered a nuclear meltdown at a power plant in Fukushima. On March 26, a man walks among debris in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. Athit Perawongmetha/Getty Images hide caption

Workers decontaminate the roof of a kindergarten about 12 miles from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan last month. Several hundred Japanese seniors have volunteered to take part in the cleanup effort. Hiro Komae/AP hide caption

Farmers whose crops were ruined by a nuclear accident protest Aug. 3 at the Tokyo Electric Power Co. Many Japanese are calling for the country to lessen its dependence on nuclear power following the accident six months ago. Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda was chosen leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan on Monday. That all but ensures his selection as Japan's next prime minister. Hiro Komae/AP hide caption

Most of Kesennuma's large fishing boats either survived the tsunami or have been repaired. But many do not move from the dock, because most of the city's fish-processing factories still lie in ruins. Frank Langfitt/NPR hide caption

Boston-based NGO All Hands is restoring water-damaged photos recovered from Japan's tsunami using scanners and a host of professional photo re-touchers around the world. Frank Langfitt/NPR hide caption

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in May. The beleaguered leader is expected to step down in coming weeks. Koji Sasahara/AP hide caption

This March 24 aerial photo shows the extent of damage at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan. The 40-foot-tall tsunami destroyed the electrical and cooling systems, resulting in meltdowns at some of the reactors. Air Photo Service/AP hide caption