Memorial observances were held throughout Japan yesterday as the nation marked six months since the Great East Japan Earthquake disaster of March 11.

In Tokyo, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan (CBCJ) and the National Christian Council in Japan conducted a joint service in remembrance of the victims of the quake and tsunami at the United Church of Christ in Japan’s Shitaya Church in Tokyo. It began with the tolling of a bell at 2:46 p.m., the time the disaster struck.

Around 180 people gathered for the service, which also had the support of the Japan Evangelical Association. Archbishop Takeo Okada of Tokyo was one of the celebrants.

The congregation offered prayers in memory of the victims, for the recovery of the worst-affected regions, and for a swift resolution to the nuclear crisis that arose in the wake of the tragedy.

During the ecumenical gathering, Isao Tadokoro of Caritas Japan gave a short account of the relief work the Catholic Church is engaged in.

Similar memorials for the dead and prayers for renewal in the disaster-struck areas echoed in the hearts and actions of Catholics throughout Japan.

On August 23, CBCJ president, Archbishop Jun Ikenaga, SJ of Osaka, composed texts for the Prayers of the Faithful to be offered on the occasion. He urged all bishops of the Church in Japan to put them to use during yesterday’s Mass.

Also yesterday, Bishop Tetsuo Hiraga of Sendai diocese, which was among the hardest-hit by the disaster, released a document called, “Moving into Phase II of the ‘New Creation’ Basic Plan” — an update on policies he first issued around Easter.

In the new document, Bishop Hiraga looked back on activities of the Church over the past six months as “Phase I,” and proclaimed the next year-and-a-half as “Phase II,” to be complete by the end of March, 2013.

Bishop Hiraga described the activities to be undertaken over the course of Phase II as consisting primarily of rebuilding the lives of victims, assisting in re-establishing their economic independence, caring for those who have suffered psychological damage, re-establishing communities, and similar efforts.