A fishing boat that was swept to shore during the 2011 tsunami will no longer be on display in Japan, Fox News reported.
The decision to remove the boat, named No. 18 Kyotoku-maru, was made last week after local people complained to officials in Kesennuma that they wanted it taken down.
"Our city has decided to demolish the vessel since nearly 70 percent of residents did not want to preserve it," a local official said, citing a poll taken.
Last month, 68 percent of the 14,803 residents that participated in the vote said "yes" to destroying the ship and 16 percent voted to keep it.
"It's just a constant reminder of the terrible disaster," said Yoshimi Abe, a Kessenuma resident. "When I walk by it every morning, my heart aches."
The No. 18 Kyotoku-maru was originally kept on display as a relic of the tsunami, which was responsible for more than 18,000 deaths and caused a nuclear accident in Fukushima. The ship survived a fire in a small city on the northeast coast following its arrival on shore. It is about 200-feet long.
Although a majority of local residents wanted to see the ship removed, many would visit the site to pray and leave flowers in remembrance of the victims. Some even saw it as a business opportunity.
"My son owns a store in the temporary market near Kyotokumaru. Many of his customers are out-of-town visitors who drop by to see the ship," said Shigeru Saito, another resident.
Kesennuma Mayor Shigeru Sugawara expressed how he wished the residents felt differently.
"I wanted to leave a visible symbol of what happened here for generations to come," he said. "The decision has been made, and there's nothing much more we can do."
The ship will reportedly be taken down by the end of the month.
