OTSUCHI, Iwate -- A clock frozen at the time the Great East Japan Earthquake struck was removed Tuesday morning from the former town hall of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, a town hit hard by the tsunami following the quake.
The clock on the exterior of the building's second floor stopped due to the disaster on March 11, 2011, and its minute hand was badly broken.
A ladder leading to the rooftop of the building was also removed on the day. The municipal government plans to remove damaged overhead lighting on the first-floor ceiling and other items at a later date, and to preserve all of the items as relics to pass on the memory of the event.
The building was flooded up to the ceiling of the second floor by the tsunami that followed the earthquake.
Immediately after the quake, a disaster control headquarters was set up in front of the building's front entrance. Thirty-nine town government officials who gathered there died in the disaster, including the mayor, while those who managed to escape to the rooftop survived.
Despite calls from some residents to preserve the building, the town decided to demolish it, saying it brings back painful memories.
A group of residents has filed a lawsuit against the town government with the Morioka District Court, demanding a halt to the demolition. The court is to deliver its ruling on Thursday.
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