An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 struck Japan on Monday, April 12th, the one-month anniversary of the massive earthquake and tsunami. Officials said that the aftershock didn’t endanger the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex. The aftershock spooked people, but there were not any reports of damage or injuries due to the earthquake.

Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yukio Edano told reporters that people living up to twenty miles from the nuclear plant were urged to evacuate within a month due to the radiation levels being high. “This is not an emergency measure that people have to evacuate immediately. We have decided this measure based on long term health risks,” Edano said. He continued, “the nuclear accident has not stabilized and we cannot deny the possibility the situation could get worse.” All 70,000-80,000 people living within a twelve mile radius of the plant had already been evacuated.

People in towns that were affected gathered for ceremonies at 2:46 p.m., which was the exact minute, a month ago that the massive quake hit in Japan. People stopped construction to step outside their vehicles and equipment to bow their heads. Many people all over Japan stopped to bow their heads to remember the disaster that happened there.

At one school, students are returning to their classes on Tuesday even though 129 people are living in their gym. The earthquake and tsunami flattened communities along hundreds of miles of the Japanese coastline. The government estimated up to as much as $310 billion dollars in damage. About 250,000 people do not have electricity. 

Japan’s government marked the one month anniversary of the earthquake by placing an ad in newspapers in China, South Korea, Russia, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States which included a letter from the Prime Minister, Naota Kan. The letter thanked people for the outpouring of support that came after the tsunami. Kan describe the outpouring as “kizuna,” the bond of friendship. 

He said, “We deeply appreciate the kizuna our friends from around the world have shown and I want to thank every nation, entity, and you personally, from the bottom of my heart.”