Japan - after the BIG earthquake: - March 11, 2014

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The fourth year after the earthquake starts !

three years later -
nothing can erase
these memories

March Eleven -
the power of death
and life

. Remember March 11, 2011, 14:46 　

. Remember March 11, 2013, 14:46 　

. Hokusai : The Great Wave and the Tsunami .

In Retrospect
. - The End of the Year 2011 - .

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. . . Joys of Japan . . .

Join the Friends on Facebook !

NHK Earthquake Charity Song
Hana wa Saku 花は咲く Flowers Will Bloom

Please take your time to listen here:
source : vimeo.com

MORE videos to watch groups singing for 2013:
. NHK - www.nhk.or.jp/ashita .

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List of Tohoku Initiatives

This is a {preliminary} list of groups, individuals, and institutions active in the disaster hit area of Tohoku in northern Japan, or of projects elsewhere in Japan that can serve as good practice examples for reconstruction.
In its current state,
it represents an unsystematic, broad collection of various projects of differing scopes and scales. In the long-run, however, we aim to provide a systematic database and map of who is doing what, where, how, and with which success in the fields of alternative energy, community building, multi-generation housing, transportation, architecture, master plans, agriculture, economic development, and art & design.
source : tpf2.net/initiatives

Japan earthquakes 2011 Visualization map
source : www.youtube.com

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Gabi reports:

March eleven -
I turn the calendar leaf
with a heavy heart 　

. TEPCO - Problems in 2014 .

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Bulletins from NHK Online - March 2014

- - - - - March 4
Fukushima town to start rebuilding
A town that co-hosts the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant has signed a deal with a government-affiliated agency to rebuild part of the town's infrastructure during the next 4 years.
All 10,000 residents of the town of Okuma were evacuated due to the nuclear accident 3 years ago.
The municipality will start work on the Ogawara district as the first step in rebuilding the community. The government's decontamination efforts have decreased radiation levels in Ogawara, in the southern part of the town. Residents are allowed to visit the district but not to live there.
The municipality hopes to have electricity, water and other infrastructure in place by the end of March 2017.
Mayor Toshitsuna Watanabe and Ikuo Kaminishi, president of the semi-public Urban Renaissance Agency, signed a memorandum on Monday to get the project under way.
Watanabe said reconstruction in the area will be the first step toward rebuilding Okuma. He said he hopes to start work as soon as possible with the agency's help.
The town and agency plan to hold further discussions so they can reach a more detailed agreement in fiscal 2014.

- - - - - March 5
More quake-affected families separating
An NHK survey shows that an increasing number of people who evacuated after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami have left the temporary housing where their families live.

NHK conducts an annual survey at a temporary housing complex in Ishinomaki city, Miyagi Prefecture. The 1,100-unit Kaisei housing complex is the largest in the affected areas.
370 people responded to the 3rd survey this year. 33.2 percent said some family members have gone to live elsewhere. That's a 40 percent increase from the survey taken 2 years ago.
38.4 percent said their families had to split up because the living space was too small. Some others cited worsening family relations and divorce.
Professor Yasuo Yamazaki of Ishinomaki Senshu University, who studies the lives of the evacuees at the Kaisei complex, says younger people are leaving temporary housing because it is inconvenient to commute to work or school.
He says it is important that municipalities and volunteer groups work together to support those elderly people who tend to get left behind.

- - - - - March 7
Survey: 74% of voluntary evacuees not returning
An NHK survey has found that many voluntary evacuees from Fukushima are still haunted by radiation fears and plan to live outside the prefecture for good.
NHK conducted the survey ahead of the 3rd anniversary of the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
Following the March 2011 accident, at least 25,000 people who lived outside government-designated evacuation zones left the prefecture voluntarily. NHK received responses from 307 such people.
Results show that 74 percent are planning to stay where they are now or find a new place to settle down. Some of these people had returned to Fukushima at one point but decided to flee again. Many of them cited fears about radiation and possible exposure.

65 percent of the respondents said their household budgets are squeezed, due mostly to a decline in income and savings. Transportation costs were also cited as a heavy burden.
Voluntary evacuees are subject to partial waivers of expressway tolls and limited housing support under a government program.
The survey respondents included 129 households in which the husbands are staying in Fukushima but their wives live separately.

97 percent of them said the husbands have work in the prefecture. 25 percent of the couples cited conflicting views on evacuation and radiation as the reasons for living apart.

37 percent of the couples that live apart said family ties have deteriorated.

60 percent said they were consulting their partners less about personal concerns and about 70 percent said they talk less.

23 percent of the overall respondents had divorced or were planning to divorce.

Kenichiro Kawasaki co-leads an aid group called the Save Fukushima Children Lawyers' Network that is supporting the voluntary evacuees.
Kawasaki says the evacuees need thorough assistance that serves their needs. He notes they have the right to evacuate under law, so they should be granted necessary support to ease the financial strain of being displaced for a long time.

- - - - - March 9
Survey shows 60% see little progress in rebuilding
More than 60 percent of the people responding to a survey see little progress in efforts to reconstruct areas hit by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute conducted the nationwide survey from November to December of last year. It covered 3,600 people aged 16 or older. Sixty-eight percent responded.
55 percent of the respondents said reconstruction efforts are showing little progress, and 9 percent said they see no progress at all.
The survey also asked how respondents feel about efforts to decontaminate areas affected by the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
13 percent said they recognize progress, while 85 percent saw little progress.
The survey also asked about the largest task for the Japanese government in the reconstruction process.
45 percent of the respondents cited handling the effects of the nuclear accident.
Associate Professor Reo Kimura of the University of Hyogo says many people affected by the disaster still cannot imagine what the areas and towns will look like after rebuilding. He says that, therefore, people are unable to sense that recovery is making progress.
Meanwhile, another survey shows that the number of corporate bankruptcies believed to result from the disaster was nearly 1,500.
Credit research firm Teikoku Databank says there were 1,485 such bankruptcies since the disaster through last month.
It says the failed companies had a total of more than 21,000 employees.

Anti-nuclear protest on 3rd-year anniversary
Anti-nuclear activists staged a rally in Tokyo on Sunday ahead of the 3rd anniversary of the March 11th accident at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
The protesters marched through the streets toward the Diet building. They held up placards demanding the elimination of nuclear power plants for the protection of children.
They surrounded the parliament building, saying the nation's nuclear plants should not be restarted.
The organizer said about 10,000 people took to the streets. Police put the figure at about 4,000.

- - - - - March 10
Abe calls for accelerating reconstruction efforts
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has instructed his Cabinet to further accelerate reconstruction efforts from the March 11th 2011 tsunami, earthquake and nuclear disasters.
He and his Cabinet ministers attended a joint meeting of the Nuclear Disaster Taskforce and the Reconstruction Council on Monday, the eve of the 3rd anniversary of the calamity.
The Prime Minister said it is important to support the livelihoods of the long-time evacuees and to restore their workplaces. In particular, he called for efforts to prevent the elderly from living in isolation and for providing mental care for children. ...
... The prime minister said it is important to take the opportunity not only to rebuild disaster areas but to address problems such as the declining population, the aging society, and the hollowing out of industry.
He added that the government will work to create a new Tohoku region that will serve as a model for Japan and the world.

- - - - - March 11
NRA head urges recalling 2011 nuclear disaster
Tuesday marks the 3rd anniversary of the March 11th earthquake and tsunami and the ensuing nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
The head of Japan's nuclear watchdog has urged officials on its staff to keep the accident in mind and ensure safety as they do their job.
Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shunichi Tanaka was speaking to about 700 NRA officials.
Tanaka said he is always reminded of the enormous distress the accident caused whenever he talks with people in Fukushima Prefecture. Tanaka himself is from Fukushima.
He said NRA officials must be aware that whenever there's trouble at the crippled plant, a dark cloud of concern weighs on the minds of people who have been displaced by the accident.
Tanaka said it is important for NRA officials to keep the accident in mind and to consider what their responsibilities as they work.
He asked them to sympathize with nuclear accident victims, be aware of what is happening in Fukushima and reconfirm the meaning of the culture of safety.
Tanaka referred to the ongoing safety screening of 10 idled nuclear plants across Japan. He called on the officials to carry out their tasks, bearing in mind the need to prevent accident at the plants. The screening is a precondition for restarting the plants.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority and its secretariat were launched in September 2012. The country's former nuclear regulatory body was seen as failing in its watchdog role.

Japan observes 3rd anniversary of March 2011 quake
Memorials were held across Japan on Tuesday to observe the 3rd anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami disasters of March 11th, 2011.

In Tokyo, about 1,200 people attended a government-sponsored memorial ceremony. They included the Emperor and Empress, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and representatives of those who lost family members.
The participants observed a moment of silence at 2:46 PM, the time the quake struck 3 years ago.

Abe said the government would speed up rebuilding efforts so that everyone affected could return to normal life as soon as possible. He pledged to build a nation that is resilient against natural disasters.
The Emperor said it is important that all people of Japan should unite their hearts and support each other for a long time so that those affected can live without losing their hopes and in good health.

Representatives of the bereaved families from the 3 hardest-hit prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima also spoke.
Mikiko Asanuma of Iwate Prefecture lost her child in the disaster. She said she will work to rebuild her hometown, which her child loved.
A representative from Fukushima Prefecture, Yukari Tanaka, lost her father. She said the disaster must never be forgotten so that such a tragedy is not repeated.

Authorities have so far confirmed that 15,884 people were killed in the earthquake and tsunami. 2,633 others are still unaccounted for.
In Rikuzentakata City, Iwate Prefecture, people offered prayers for 51 firefighters who died while helping residents evacuate from the tsunami.

In Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture, a ceremony was held at a convention center where more than 1,000 people took shelter after the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. The city's 300 elementary school pupils sang a song written to support the recovery efforts from the disaster.

In Minamisanriku Town, Miyagi Prefecture, people still living in temporary housing gathered at a hill overlooking their hometown. They prayed for the victims, including 43 people who drowned in the tsunami while gathering at the town's disaster management office.

Population decline continues in disaster-hit areas
The populations of the 3 Japanese prefectures hardest hit by the 2011 disaster continued to decline.
NHK analyzed the population changes in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures between March first, 2011 and February first, 2014.
The total population dropped by more than 132,000 during the 3 years.
In the first year after the disaster, the population declined by about 85,000, as many people died or were evacuated.
In the second year, the number fell by 29,000, and the third year by 17,000.
Of the 3 prefectures, Fukushima saw the largest population decline -- more than 79,000 -- apparently due to the nuclear accident.
The numbers indicate that, given the slow progress in reconstruction projects, many residents are giving up on the hope of rebuilding their lives in their hometowns.
About 30,000 new homes are planned for those affected by the disaster, but only 3 percent of them were complete as of the end of February.
Progress in projects to relocate tsunami-stricken communities has also been slow. Only 10 percent of the areas planned for relocated communities had been developed as of the end of January.
But the populations began rising recently in some stricken areas, such as Iwanuma in Miyagi, due to progress in community relocation projects. Populations are also increasing in urban and inland areas such as Sendai and Morioka.

source : www3.nhk.or.jp

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Japan Earthquake: Before and After
Photo Tour
source : www.theatlantic.com

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