TOKYO, March 11 (RIA Novosti) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe addressed his country on the two-year anniversary of the devastating earthquake and tsunami, saying there is still help needed to eliminate the consequences of the natural calamity.

“People in the disaster-stricken regions still need help. The help can be different, including volunteerism, financial charity, tourism or acquisition of goods, produced in these regions. There will be no real spring in Japan until spring comes to devastated regions,” the premier said via YouTube.

Two years ago Japan was hit by a massive 9.0-magnitude quake which caused a tsunami, claiming over 15,000 lives and triggering a number of explosions at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant.

The tsunami caused a partial meltdown at three of the nuclear plant’s reactors. Radiation leaked into the atmosphere, soil and seawater, becoming the world's worst nuclear disaster after Chernobyl.

According to scientists, Japan will need at least 40 years to recover fully from the nuclear catastrophe.

Some 315,000 people are still living in a temporary housing unable to return to their houses.