People in an Indonesian province that the Indian Ocean tsunami devastated in 2004 have paid tribute to the victims of the massive earthquake and tsunami that seven years later struck northeastern Japan.

About 100 people attended a ceremony on Saturday in Aceh, at the northwestern tip of Sumatra Island, to mark exactly 12 years since March 11, 2011.

Participants offered prayers that the people who lost their lives in Japan that day will never be forgotten. An Aceh couple's documentary film on the 2011 disaster was also screened. It was based on their interviews with survivors.

The Japanese embassy donated video footage to an archive facility in Aceh that shows how the tsunami swept across Japan's coastal areas. The embassy hopes the material will assist Indonesia with tsunami research.

More than 160,000 people died in Aceh in the 2004 tsunami. Aceh has reached out to communities in Japan that were hit hard by the quake and tsunami in 2011.

A 52-year-old attendee said the 2011 disaster offers lessons for everyone. He said he wants to continue sending messages and prayers from Aceh to Japan to support people trying to rebuild their lives.