Yasuo Takamatsu’s relentless quest to find his wife, Yuko, has captured the hearts of many. Over the past 13 years, Takamatsu has dived into the waters of Japan’s devastated coast more than 600 times, driven by the hope of finding his beloved wife who was lost to the 2011 tsunami.
The Tragic Event
On March 11, 2011, Japan was struck by the Great East Japan Earthquake, the fourth most powerful earthquake ever recorded.
The quake, measuring 9.1 in magnitude, triggered a massive tsunami that wreaked havoc along the northeastern coast. The disaster resulted in over 18,000 deaths, left 2,500 people missing, and caused the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, marking it as the second-most costly disaster in history after Chernobyl.
Yuko Takamatsu was one of those missing. As the disaster unfolded, Yuko sent a brief text message to her husband, “Are you OK? I want to go home.” These were her last known words to Yasuo before her phone was lost, leaving Takamatsu in an agonizing state of uncertainty.
Yasuo's Unyielding Search
In the aftermath of the disaster, Yasuo was in the next town visiting his mother-in-law, who had been hospitalized.
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