10 years ago, Japan was hit by one of the strongest earthquakes of 9.0 magnitude ever on March 11.

The earthquake coined as the Great East Japan earthquake triggered a powerful tsunami that claimed 15,848 lives.

The devastating natural disaster subsequently led to meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Man still searching for missing wife 10 years after tsunami

Various media outlets spoke to survivors of this disaster on the 10th anniversary of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

While houses and infrastructures have been rebuilt, some survivors are still living in grief from losing their loved ones, and remained shaken by the event.

The town of Onagawa was one of the areas hardest hit by the tsunami, a relief coordinator told the BBC.

A 64-year-old Japanese man called Yasuo Takamatsu has been diving weekly since he lost his wife to the tsunami in Onagawa, which is located in Miyagi prefecture.

According to the Associated Press, after searching for her remains on land for the first two years, the man got a diving license in 2013 to continue the search for his wife, Yuko, underwater.

"I dive as if I'm going to meet her someplace," Takamatsu told AP.

He added that he will continue to look for his wife "as long as [his] body moves".

Felt depressing to not do anything

Takamatsu shared that it was his wife's wish to go home.

He told AP that in the last text message he received from his wife, she said: "Are you okay? I want to go home."

BBC also reported that Takamatsu eventually retrieved Yuko's handphone.

The phone came to life months later and he saw an undelivered message that was meant for him saying, "The tsunami is disastrous."

Takamatsu also told BBC that it was "depressing" to not do anything while staying alive.

Now he aims to not just find his wife but to find others too as he joined the regular searches for the remains of other missing people.

Top image: AFP PHOTO/Toru Yamanaka via Getty Images