Yoko Ono: 'I was shocked by Japan tragedy'

Yoko Ono has revealed that she was 'shocked' by the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

The Tokyo-born artist, who staged a benefit concert for the country in New York City last month, offered her condolences and encouragement to the Japanese people in a recent interview with Spinner.com.

"It's my country - and I just got a shock. It doesn't compare with John [Lennon] dying, that was a big shock," she explained. "But this is the second biggest shock of my life. This is like my hometown."

"You think it's never going to happen again. Japan made an incredible leap [since WW2] and the thing is, Japanese people are very resilient, very wise and they're all workaholics. They have an obsessive goodness about things to do it right. So you see that people are not spilling anger, you see that they are just sad. Nobody's being destructive; nobody's going into other people's house and taking things."

She went on to say that she is sure the country can rebound, adding: "They're a very sensitive people, and I think they're going to make it. I think we're going to make it."

Ono previously paid tribute to Lennon on the 30th anniversary of his death. She also insisted that her late husband would want world peace were he still alive today.