Placing candles in position as hundreds of residents prepare to mark the first anniversary of Japan's massive earthquake and tsunami.
Some wrote their hopes and wishes on the glass before lighting them. Many took a moment to remember the nearly 16,000 people killed after the magnitude 9 earthquake devastated the country's north-eastern coast.
The lights were arranged to spell out "Pray 3-11" or March 11th. The ceremony in Iwaki city is 18 miles from the Fukushima nuclear plant
nuclear plant which melted down and spewed radiation throughout Japan, forcing tens of thousands to have to evacuate.
Their only hope is that the nuclear crisis that still plagues Fukushima will reach some sort of end before a second anniversary.
Hundreds of ceremonies are expected to be held throughout Japan to mark the world's most costly natural disaster and the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.
Deborah Gembara, Reuters.
