March 11 marks five years since the devastating Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, and one year since the Third U.N. World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction was held in Sendai, the center of the disaster-hit Tohoku region.

To commemorate these events, Sendai will hold the 2016 Sendai Symposium for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Future on Saturday.

"It's been a year since the U.N. conference and five years since the earthquake. It's a milestone day and we should gather people from various sectors who are working on revitalization and disaster risk reduction to share their achievements and discuss future agendas," said Emi Oba of the Sendai Disaster Resilient and Environmentally Progressive City Promotion Office.