i'm john vause aalong with my colleagues in ishinom aaki, japan. a national ceremony to mark and the thousands of lives lost is expected to begin 30 minutes from now in the national theater in tokyo. both the japanese emperor and prime minister is expected to speak, and all across japan other ceremonies and protests will be taking place. the monks you see here are chanting and a praying at a school that lost more than 70 students in the tsunami. this hour a look at the efforts to rebuild and the struggle many japanese are facing one year on. it was 2:46 in the afternoon one year ago when the 9.0 earthquake struck off japan's coast setting a chain of events into motion. what followed was watched by millions of people around the world and the first time a disaster on this scale had been broadcast. most could do very little except watch in disbelief. here's how the first moments and day unfolded. >> we are getting world of a powerful earthquake that has hit japan. >> i can tell you pretty much what we've experienced. i'm actually in a subway, and just