Waves from the tsunami hit residences after a powerful earthquake in Natori, Miyagi prefecture (state), Japan. (AAP)

A man looks on as US rescue workers search for survivors in a house in Kamaishi, Iwate prefecture. (Getty)

Houses were in flames after being hit by a tsunami in Natori, northern Japan on March 11, 2011. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

A photo provided by the US Navy shows a Japanese home adrift in the Pacific Ocean (EPA).

An "energy map" produced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (http://www.noaa.gov/) (NOAA) shows the power of the tsunami that hit Japan following the country's biggest quake on record. (Getty Images)

Japanese Self-Defence Force soldiers searched for victims amid the snow-covered debris in Natori. (Getty)

Volunteers worked to clean and dry family photographs that were recovered from the mud and debris left after the tsunami in Minamisanriku. (AAP)

The 4,724-tonne freighter 'M.V. Asia Symphony' was hit by the tsunami and landed on the port in Kamaishi city. (Getty)

Many survivors found shelter at an evacuation centre at Watari town in Miyagi prefecture (AFP/Getty Images).

Debris and wrecked houses smouldered following the tsunami at Ofunato city in Iwate province (AFP/Getty Images).

Survivors were checked for radiation levels by officials in Koriyama city in Fukushima prefecture. (Getty)

Futaba Kosei Hospital patients who might have been exposed to radiation were carried into the compound of Fukushima Gender Equality Centre in Nihonmatsu. (AAP)

A truck was furled atop a building at the destroyed fish market in Ofunato. (Getty)

In the aftermath of the Fukishima disaster, thousands of people protested against the government's nuclear energy policy in demonstrations across Japan in June, 2011. (AAP)

Rescue workers searched for bodies under wrecked houses after the tsunami and earthquake in Natori. (AFP/Getty Images)

Survivors stayed in emergency shelters such as this one in the Miyako Shogako school sports hall. (Getty)

Cars were seen balancing amongst tsunami-wrought devastation in Natori. (AFP/Getty Images)

Local residents watched the devastation provoked by a tsunami tidal wave smashing vehicles and houses at Kesennuma city in Miyagi prefecture. (AFP/Getty Images)

Local residents lit candles during a memorial service marking six months after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Iwanuma city, Miyagi prefecture. (AAP)