With moments of silence, prayers and memorial events, Japanese last week remembered the massive tsunami that struck the northern Tohoku region on March 11th four years ago, wiping out many coastal communities. Tens of thousands remain displaced, and some drew hope from the lone pine tree in Rikuzentakata that miraculously survived the waves.
In other images from across Asia last week, rows and rows of 6,000 new military officers in South Korea saluted smartly during a commissioning ceremony, while in Beijing a hostess prepared tea for high-ranking officials on the top advisory panel to China's national legislature.
Police in Myanmar charged and arrested dozens of students, beating and kicking some, as they broke up protests against an education law the students view as restricting their academic freedom.
Powerful winds and heavy rains from Cyclone Pam left a trail of destruction in the Pacific's Vanuatu archipelago, while at a tranquil sunrise in Allahabad, India, Hindus gathered to bathe at the Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswathi.
