Families mourn tsunami victims, seek answers from bank employer

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ONAGAWA, Miyagi Prefecture--Family members of 12 bank employees killed or left missing in the 2011 tsunami offered prayers on Nov. 11 and again asked if their loved ones could have been saved.

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Asahi Asia & Japan Watch
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38.442394, 141.446619
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38.442394
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141.446619
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38.442394,141.446619
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By TAKAHARU YAGI/ Staff Writer
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By TAKAHARU YAGI/ Staff Writer
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Families mourn tsunami victims, seek answers from bank employer
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ONAGAWA, Miyagi Prefecture--Family members of 12 bank employees killed or left missing in the 2011 tsunami offered prayers on Nov. 11 and again asked if their loved ones could have been saved.

The memorial event was held at the site where the 77 Bank Onagawa branch used to stand.

“I wish she had fled to the mountains,” said Nagako Tanno, 83, whose daughter Michiko was 54 years old when the tsunami swept her away three years and eight months ago.

Adjacent to the former site of the bank is the four-story, tsunami-ravaged Enoshima Kyosai Kaikan building, which remains knocked over on its side.

Many people from Tokyo, Hiroshima and Fukuoka prefectures visited the town on Nov. 11 and looked at the building.

Tanno’s 54-year-old third daughter, Keiko, planted flowers and decorated a Christmas tree near the collapsed building. She explained to the visitors what happened there on March 11, 2011.

Some of the families sued 77 Bank, demanding an explanation for why their loved ones died and calling for measures to prevent a recurrence.

The plaintiffs’ case was rejected at the first trial, but they have filed an appeal.

The Enoshima Kyosai Kaikan building will be checked for harmful asbestos later this month, and it is expected to be demolished as early as the end of the year.

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