Devoted Tsunami Widower Completes 760 Dives To Find Missing Wife
An illustration of a diver searching underwater represents Yasuo Takamatsu's years-long search for his missing wife, Yuko, after the 2011 Japan tsunami. Cropped from the original Maël BALLAND/Pexels

Fifteen years after his wife disappeared in Japan's 2011 tsunami, Yasuo Takamatsu is still returning to the waters where she was last seen. The Japanese widower has completed more than 760 dives searching for Yuko, with the BBC World Service following him on his 763rd dive in 2026. Her remains have never been recovered.

The story has resurfaced through a Daily Mail TikTok video, which revisits Takamatsu's extraordinary search and the final message Yuko sent before the tsunami swept her away.

Yuko's Final Message Before the Tsunami

Yuko was 47 and working at a bank in Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture, when the magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck northeastern Japan on 11 March 2011. As tsunami warnings were issued, she and other bank employees moved to the roof of the building.

At 3:21pm, Yuko sent Takamatsu a message asking, 'Are you OK?' before adding: 'I want to go home.'

It was the last message he received from her. A tsunami then struck Onagawa, sweeping away buildings and people, including Yuko.

Weeks later, her mobile phone was recovered from the area. Takamatsu found an unsent message written at around 3:25pm. In English translation, it read: 'Tsunami huge.'

Takamatsu Searched on Land Before Turning to the Sea

Takamatsu initially searched for Yuko among shelters, hospitals and the devastated areas around Onagawa. More than two years passed without finding her.

He eventually decided to search underwater and began learning to scuba dive in 2013. The decision turned his search into a long-running effort to locate his wife's remains in the waters off Onagawa.

The underwater search was difficult. Debris and thick mud could make visibility poor, while the cold and depth added further challenges. Takamatsu has also spoken about the fear he initially felt while learning to dive, particularly the thought of running out of oxygen deep underwater. After training, however, he continued returning to the area and gradually increased the number of dives.

His effort also reflects the unresolved loss left by the disaster for many families along Japan's coast.

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His 763rd Dive Came Nearly 15 Years Later

By the time the BBC World Service followed Takamatsu on his 763rd dive in 2026, he had completed 763 dives. The broadcaster reported that he returns to the water twice a month, every month, nearly 15 years after Yuko disappeared.

That means the figure in the headline is a rounded description of the latest documented total, rather than the end of his search.

The BBC's documentary, Diving for Yuko, says Takamatsu has spent nearly 15 years diving for his wife's remains and describes the repeated searches as an act of devotion.

The Search Has Become a Ritual of Remembrance

The BBC report also places Takamatsu's dives in the context of Japanese ideas about grief, memory and nature. His repeated journeys into the sea are no longer simply presented as an unresolved search for a missing person, but as a ritual through which he continues to remember Yuko.

Even after hundreds of dives, there has been no recovery of her remains. Takamatsu nevertheless continues to return to the same waters.

For him, the search remains tied to the final words he received from his wife: 'I want to go home.'

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