Ever-changing Landscapes

The year 2015 saw the start of many critical things --- for public housing built for quake victims to begin accepting them, for a public hospital and a fish market to resume, for shopping streets to turn over a new leaf, for the local railroad to fully reopen --- and the convenience of everyday life coming back. While recovery efforts continue, disaster prevention efforts are also on the way, an evacuation tower from tsunami been constructed.

In 2016, continued efforts will be made in constructing public hospitals and public housing for quake victims, conducting a survey on how to leave the remains of the quake as its monuments, and searching for missing people. According to the last census, the nuclear evacuation zone designated after the accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture showed the highest population decrease rate of 100 percent, Ongawa-cho in Miyagi Prefecture 37 percent, and Otsuchi-cho in Iwate Prefecture 23.2 percent. It is the regions’ previously-existing issue made worse by the quake that the population in coastal areas is decreasing while that of inland or metropolitan areas is increasing.

【Disaster Prevention Office Building and Embankment in Minamisariku-cho: The Office left nothing but its framework is surrounded by the embankment.】



【A tower for Evacuation from Tsunami in Ishinomaki City: A temporary shelter for people who could not run to a place where tsunami water doesn’t reach.】



【Construction of New Utsumi Bridge in Ishinomaki city: Wrecked bridge is replaced with a new one.】



In 2016, five years after the quake, JEN is committed to continuing its reconstruction supports activities along with people in the affected areas. From January, we will launch a new activity based on the partnership with an organization that specializes in supporting single-parent households. We will keep you updated in next issue.



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