Stress and other illnesses related to the 2011 quake and tsunami had killed 1,656 people in Fukushima Prefecture as of Wednesday, outnumbering the 1,607 whose deaths were directly tied to disaster-caused injuries, according to data compiled by the prefecture and local police.

A prefectural official said many people "have undergone drastic changes in their lives and are still unable to map out their future plans, such as homecoming, causing increased stress on them."

Around 136,000 people are still displaced in the prefecture, which has had to cope with the devastating effects of the natural disasters and meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear station.