Japan is marking the fifth anniversary of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that left more than 18,000 dead or missing.
A minute's silence will be held across Japan at 2:46pm (5:46 GMT), the time the quake hit.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Emperor Akihito will offer flowers at a memorial ceremony in Tokyo.
The nine-magnitude quake struck offshore, creating a vast water surge that devastated Japan's north-east.
It also triggered the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986, as reactor meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant spewed radiation over a wide area and forced the evacuation of more than 160,000 people.
Most of them have not been able to return to their homes, despite extensive decontamination work.
The tragedy will also be marked by anti-nuclear protests - the disaster has left a lingering distrust of nuclear power in Japan and all but a handful of reactors remain offline.
The government has spent billions of dollars on reconstruction work, but much remains to be done, and many residents have since made lives elsewhere.
Takagi Tsuyoshi, Japan's minister of reconstruction, promised the job would be completed.
"Rehabilitation and reconstruction have reached a certain level in terms of 'hardware', but there is still a lack of 'software'. We will attend to both aspects in the future, and achieve total reconstruction within the next five years." he promised.
For many survivors though, emotional difficulties are their main concern.
"Infrastructure is recovering, hearts are not. I thought time would take care of things," Eiki Kumagai, a volunteer fireman who lost 51 colleagues in Rikuzentakata, told Reuters.
"I keep seeing the faces of those who died... There's so much regret, I can't express it."
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