Soldiers are slogging through marshy ground in Japan, poking it with slender poles in search of victims of last month's earthquake and tsunami.

Japan has set 25,000 troops to scouring the country's northeast coast for the bodies of nearly 12,000 people missing and presumed dead. The estimated death toll is 26,000. It's the largest search since the twin disasters.

Backed by dozens of boats and aircraft, the soldiers are scouring the region for remains swept to sea or buried under masses of rubble.

Monday's search is an all-out effort to recover any remains for their families.

The soldiers are combing through the rubble and navy boats and divers are searching the waters up to 12 miles off the coast.