Japan Earthquake: Minute's Silence Marks One Month

People in Japan have fallen silent to mark one month since the devastating earthquake and tsunami. Survivors in shelters marked the moment the quake hit at 1446 (0546 GMT) with bowed heads and a minute of quiet.

The disasters killed almost 28,000 people and left 150,000 homeless. They also damaged cooling systems at a nuclear plant, which workers are struggling to bring under control.

PM Naoto Kan has thanked people around the world for their support.  In an open letter carried in seven newspapers around the world, he said that the support had brought hope and inspired courage at a desperate time.  "Through our own efforts and with the help of the global community, Japan will recover and come back even stronger. We will then repay you for your generous aid," he wrote. "With this in our hearts, we now stand together dedicated to rebuilding the nation." 'Never abandon'

Several villages on the north-east coast of the main Japanese island of Honshu were largely destroyed.

Touring areas wrecked by the disaster on Sunday, Mr Kan promised to do everything possible to help communities. One month on, lives - and landscapes - are still in chaos in areas of north-eastern Japan "The government will give all its strength to work with you. We will never abandon you," he told survivors in the city of Ishinomaki.

The prime minister also tried to reassure survivors that the fishing industry - which many in the area rely on for their livelihoods - would resume as soon as possible. The tsunami wrecked boats and piers, closing down large-scale fishing operations. But the damage to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has also hit the fishing industry, as the public and international buyers ditch Japanese food products over fears of contamination.

Workers have been feeding water into three reactors to cool fuel rods because the cooling systems were damaged in the earthquake. They are continuing to inject nitrogen into the No 1 reactor to prevent another blast caused by a build-up of hydrogen gas.  They have also been releasing water with low levels of radioactivity into the sea so that they can transfer highly radioactive water to a sealed area on site.

Mr Edano said that gains had been made in bringing the situation at the plant under control.  "The possibility that the situation at the nuclear plant will deteriorate and lead to new leakage of massive radioactive materials is becoming significantly smaller," he told reporters. "Obviously, the nuclear plant is not running normally. We have to continue to ask nearby residents to remain evacuated in case the situation deteriorates.

"We believe the risk of that has become significantly smaller compared to one or two weeks after the earthquake." The release of the radioactive water into the sea angered fishing communities and drew criticism from Russia, China and South Korea. Mr Kan has apologized for not releasing more information on the operation.