Police car damaged by 3/11 tsunami keeps memories of officers alive at Fukushima museum March 9, 2024 (Mainichi Japan) Japanese version High school students and others listen to an explanation in front of a patrol car that carried two on-duty police officers swallowed by the tsunami following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake ブランドコピーN級品  at the Historical Archive Museum of Tomioka in the town of Tomioka, Fukushima Prefecture, on Feb. 1, 2024. (Mainichi/Koichi Tezuka) TOMIOKA, Fukushima -- The damaged remains of a patrol car used by two officers on the day the March 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami struck are on display at a museum in this northeast Japan town. The vehicle being exhibited at the Historical Archive Museum of Tomioka was used by assistant inspector Yuta Sato and superintendent Yoichi Masuko, aged 24 and 41 at the time, respectively. Both men had been helping civilians evacuate when they were swept up in the tsunami. Sato's body was never found. The two were specially promoted by two ranks posthumously. Yuta Sato's father Yasuhiro looks at a letter sent to his son, in the city of Fukushima on Feb. 2, 2024. (Mainichi/Koichiro Tezuka) The car had long been left idle within the no-go zone following the meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. Civilian volunteers wishing to honor the officers who died in the line of duty wrote to the Tomioka Municipal Government asking for the vehicle to be preserved. In 2015, it was moved to a park near Futaba Police Station. A letter box was set up beside it, which has reportedly received about a thousand letters from locals and others who visited from around the country, including police officers. The museum opened in 2021, aiming to collect and exhibit local materials and convey the legacy of the March 11 コピー時計  2011 quake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. Sato's 65-year-old father Yasuhiro said, "It's hard to look at the car, because it brings up memories of that day." He used to visit the park on the monthly anniversary of his son's death, but said that he hasn't yet set foot in the museum. However, he understands the value of putting the car on display. He read every message placed in the box beside the car when it was at the park, including ones like, "Thanks to this patrol vehicle's evacuation guidance, my life was saved." Yasuhiro said, "Even if it were only one person or two people, the proof that lives were saved means a lot to me." Many of the museum's visitors from across Japan and overseas pray in front of the vehicle, some even reportedly wishing to offer incense. But for those who were personally affected by the disaster, seeing the exhibition of the destroyed car can also bring up painful feelings. A photo of Yuta Sato is seen at his father Yasuhiro's home in the city of Fukushima on Feb. 2, 2024. (Mainichi/Koichiro Tezuka) Elaborating the meaning of the exhibit スーパーコピー財布  40-year-old chief curator Takeshi Monma said, "With the disaster's legacy here, people can visit when they feel at ease. I think it's important to publicly display it so the public can look back on the disaster any time." The display has also spurred testimonies that have helped to fill in the sparse details on what happened directly after the disaster. "Some testimonies, such as those on guidance during the evacuation ブランド時計コピー  came to us as a result of the car being on display," Monma said. High school students from the prefectural city of Iwaki visited the museum on a field trip. Upon seeing the exhibit for the first time, Hiyori Ono ブランドコピー通販  17, said, "It's difficult to imagine it without seeing the real thing. I really sensed the tsunami's terror." On New Year's Day, a powerful earthquake struck Japan's Noto Peninsula. "I can't look at the footage. I end up thinking it'll be like the Great East Japan Earthquake. Japan has nowhere safe from disasters," Yasuhiro said. For just that reason, he said, "I don't want people to forget the disasters of March 11." The patrol car is one such means to remember, Yasuhiro emphasized, speaking of his wish to keep the memories of the day from fading away. Nearly 13 years have passed since then. With photos of his son lining an altar in his home, Yasuhiro continued, "I think of Yuta as a police officer. I don't mind if he's the last to be found." (Japanese original by Koichiro Tezuka, Photo Group) Font Size SML Print Go to The Mainichi Home Page Related Articles 13 years after meltdown, the head of Japan's nuclear cleanup is probing mysteries inside reactors Opinion: Noto quake, Fukushima meltdown memoir prove once more nuke power is not for Japan