The following is the full text of a speech given by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a memorial ceremony at the National Theater in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
In the gracious presence of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress, it is with the deepest respect that I, representing the Government of Japan, express my condolences on the occasion of the Memorial Ceremony marking the fifth anniversary of the Great East Japan of Earthquake.