Lady Gaga shares message with Japanese fans on anniversary of Tohoku earthquake and tsunami

Lady Gaga has shared a moving message with her Japanese fans on the 10th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.

The singer, 34, took to Twitter on Wednesday to share a special video message to her followers in Japan, in which she praised their ‘strength, kindness and love’ in the wake of the devastating event.

On March 11 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake triggered a massive tsunami that crashed into Japan’s Tohoku region, an estimated 20,000 people were killed or declared missing in the wake of the disaster. 

Sharing a poignant message, Lady Gaga said: ‘Hi Japan, this is Lady Gaga. It seems like yesterday that I was watching the footage of the devastating earthquake and tsunami on the news and thinking what can I do to help?

‘I remember making a lot of phone calls that day. Through the years seeing and hearing of the vast recovery of your beautiful cities, I have so much respect to the people of Japan for your strength, kindness, and love for each other.

‘I think it gives hope to the people now who are fighting through the Covid pandemic all around the world, however I can also imagine there are many people fighting through the pain, emotionally and mentally.’

The singer went on: ‘So, let’s all continue to support each other, be kind to each other, and love each other.

‘Japan, I am always praying for you, we still live in a difficult time with the coronavirus so please take care of yourself and be kind to yourself and to the people around you. I look forward to coming back to Japan, soon.’

Lady Gaga then blew a kiss to her fans and said ‘aisitemasu’, which means ‘I love you’ in Japanese.

The earthquake and tsunami also led to the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. 

The tsunami crippled the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant and forced more than 160,000 residents to flee as radiation spewed into the air. 

The government has spent about $300 billion (32.1 trillion yen) to rebuild the tsunami-devastated region, but areas around the Fukushima plant remain off-limits, worries about radiation levels linger and many who left have settled elsewhere.