0:00:11 > 0:00:13Hi, I'm Ayshah, with a special Newsround.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16It's nearly five years since Japan was hit by one of the most
0:00:16 > 0:00:17powerful earthquakes ever.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21It caused a tsunami out at sea, bringing a massive wave
0:00:21 > 0:00:24which destroyed whole towns in its path.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27Leah travelled to Japan to meet some children who are still affected
0:00:27 > 0:00:27by what happened.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36Tokyo, it's a fast moving city that never sleeps,
0:00:36 > 0:00:39home to millions of people.
0:00:39 > 0:00:43It's also a place where earthquakes are a way of life.
0:00:43 > 0:00:49But on the 11th of March 2011, the country was struck by one
0:00:49 > 0:00:53of the most powerful quakes in years.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57The quake struck in the middle of the working day.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59On Newsround, there's only one story.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01The massive earthquake that has hit Japan.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04Just before three in the afternoon, one of the most powerful earthquakes
0:01:04 > 0:01:09on record hit north-eastern Japan.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13But something more devastating was on its way.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15These are the rather shocking and amazing pictures that
0:01:15 > 0:01:20are coming into us live now from the state broadcaster.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24The earthquake triggered a tsunami right out at sea,
0:01:24 > 0:01:27and a half an hour later, a ten metre high wave slammed
0:01:27 > 0:01:32into the coast, destroying everything in its path,
0:01:32 > 0:01:35including the town of Ishinomaki.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40Ishinomaki was one of the many coastal towns along the north-east
0:01:40 > 0:01:44of the country badly hit by the tsunami.
0:01:44 > 0:01:50Many homes, businesses and schools were simply washed away.
0:01:55 > 0:02:01Today, in Ishinomaki, life is returning to normal.
0:02:01 > 0:02:07One girl who will never forget what happened that day is Hinako.
0:02:07 > 0:02:13I was sitting somewhere here when we felt the quake.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16At first I didn't think it would be that big,
0:02:16 > 0:02:19but soon I realised it would be huge.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22We all went under desks to protect ourselves,
0:02:22 > 0:02:25but the desks were shifting and the windows were broken.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29We all knew the earthquake would not be as small as the ones
0:02:29 > 0:02:32we were used to.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35So, this is the room that Hinako and her friends witnessed
0:02:35 > 0:02:39the tsunami wave rising and rising, and it was quite
0:02:39 > 0:02:44fast and quite high.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47It was shocking to see the seat and swings floating in the water,
0:02:47 > 0:02:50rising up high enough to cover the whole slide.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52I wondered if I was outside at this very moment,
0:02:52 > 0:02:55what would happen to me?
0:02:57 > 0:02:59Hinako took us to how where her old house used to be.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02No one in the house was killed but this empty spot
0:03:02 > 0:03:05is all that remains.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08This is where your home used to be.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10Can you tell us what happened to it?
0:03:10 > 0:03:15Ever since I was born, I lived in this house with my mum,
0:03:15 > 0:03:17dad and big sister.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20She was alone at home when the tsunami hit the house.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23She ran to our neighbour and saw a car being washed away
0:03:23 > 0:03:25by the tsunami.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27She insisted she never wanted to live around here again.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31That's why we decided to leave the area.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34My school friends helped me out through the difficult times
0:03:34 > 0:03:36after the tsunami.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38I have many friends now.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40I feel very lucky.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42It's great to see children like Hinako back in the classroom
0:03:42 > 0:03:47with friends who support one another.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50But there's a town not too far away from here that is thought to be too
0:03:50 > 0:03:54dangerous for anybody to live.
0:04:01 > 0:04:02This is Tomioka Town.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04Just look around.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06It's deserted.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10Shop fronts were completely destroyed, cars overturned,
0:04:10 > 0:04:12and the reason people don't live here any more
0:04:12 > 0:04:15is because of something called radiation.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18It leaked from the nuclear power station just a few kilometres
0:04:18 > 0:04:23from here after the building was hit by a powerful wave.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28Nuclear energy provides us with some of the electricity
0:04:28 > 0:04:30which powers our homes.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32It's made in power plants by something called
0:04:32 > 0:04:34a nuclear fission reaction.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37This process creates lots of energy, some
0:04:37 > 0:04:39of which is in the form of radiation.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42Normally, the radioactive material is sealed within
0:04:42 > 0:04:45the nuclear power station.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48But in this power plant, the damage caused by the tsunami
0:04:48 > 0:04:53meant that some of the radiation leaked out.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55You can't taste, smell or see radiation with your eyes,
0:04:55 > 0:05:00but very high levels of exposure can make you ill.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04Many people in Japan were very worried about what had happened.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06After the accident, Japan's government moved everyone living
0:05:06 > 0:05:10within a few miles of the plant and closed it down.
0:05:10 > 0:05:15It was the world's worst nuclear disaster for 25 years.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18This would have been the main street into the town.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22But today, nobody lives or works here.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25And it's been like this ever since the government ordered people
0:05:25 > 0:05:29to leave, concerned over dangerously high levels of radiation that may
0:05:29 > 0:05:34have fallen to the ground after the nuclear plant disaster.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37But it's OK for us to be here today because we're wearing these plastic
0:05:37 > 0:05:41protective covers on our shoes and we're only
0:05:41 > 0:05:44here for a short time.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46Some scientists have tried to reassure people that areas
0:05:46 > 0:05:50like this, close to the power plant, are safe.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53Others think it could take hundreds of years for all the radiation
0:05:53 > 0:05:57to completely break down.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05It's playtime here in Koriyama city.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09It's a two-hour drive from the nuclear plant.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12This place was built a year after the disaster
0:06:12 > 0:06:16and it was a chance to give children a safe environment to play and also
0:06:16 > 0:06:19to have loads of fun.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25Fear of radiation means many parents prefer their children to play
0:06:25 > 0:06:29indoors, and that means many children here have no idea what it's
0:06:29 > 0:06:35like to play outside in the fresh air.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40This is one of Koriyama's biggest parks, and with school just
0:06:40 > 0:06:44finishing, you'd expect this place to be packed full
0:06:44 > 0:06:45of children playing.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49Over there is a gadget that monitors the radiation.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52At the moment it is safe but it is a fear of radiation
0:06:52 > 0:06:55that is keeping people away.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58But things are slowly starting to change.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01The fear of radiation isn't completely gone.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04We have less opportunity to play outside compared
0:07:04 > 0:07:07to before the disaster.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10And when we were stuck indoors, we were all getting angry
0:07:10 > 0:07:11and arguing a lot.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14We can now go outside more and that's made us closer
0:07:14 > 0:07:16and better friends.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19Before the quake I was playing with my friends outside,
0:07:19 > 0:07:24sometimes playing ball and having barbecues over the weekend.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27We couldn't use the school field, even though we wanted to be active.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29That made us pretty stressed.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32Now I have more friends and we enjoyed being able to play
0:07:32 > 0:07:34together as a group.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38What happened that day and the destruction that it brought
0:07:38 > 0:07:40will stay with the people of Japan forever.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43Natural disasters will always be a part of life for children here,
0:07:43 > 0:07:46but I have witnessed their strength and determination to get
0:07:46 > 0:07:48back to normal.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51But more than anything, it's friendship and families
0:07:51 > 0:07:55being together that made them strong and able to cope with whatever might
0:07:55 > 0:07:57come their way in the future.