TOKYO, March 11 (UPI) -- Four years after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit the east coast of Japan and killed nearly 16,000 people, hundreds of thousands more remain displaced, with radioactive waste continuing to trouble the waters in the affected region of Tohoku.
Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun reported Tuesday on the plight of the 229,000 people who remain displaced as refugees. This population has been in limbo since the earthquake and tsunami destroyed their homes in March 2011. About 80,000 were living in temporary housing units and were under pressure to relocate to a more permanent residence.