Friends and relatives mourned victims of Japan's March 11 earthquake and tsunami on Monday, four months after the twin disasters that devastated the nation's northeastern coast.

The latest figures from the National Police Agency show about 15,500 people are now confirmed dead in the disasters while more than 5,300 others still are missing. Officials are working to identify about 1,500 bodies, using DNA and blood samples as well as dental records.

Japan's NHK national broadcaster says more than 111,000 people still are living in temporary shelters despite government efforts to expedite construction of temporary housing. NHK said about 37,000 of a planned 50,000 temporary units are completed, though some are in remote areas and remain vacant.

Japan's Environment Ministry says about 50 percent of the rubble caused by the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and massive tsunami has now been removed from hard-hit Iwate prefecture. Progress is slower in Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, where between 25 and 30 percent has been cleared.

NHK says joblessness is a serious problem, with about 130,000 people out of work in the three prefectures.

Repair work at the crippled Fukushima Daichi nuclear power plant is also progressing slowly. Workers there are struggling to correct problems with a system designed to decontaminate and recycle water used as coolant in the reactors before highly radioactive water in the basements of the reactor buildings overflows.