The 9.0 Japan Earthquake resulting in a tsunami that tore through the country's north-eastern coastal communities killed almost 16,000 people and destroyed the lives of thousands more. In Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima whole communities were wiped out by the ferocious power of the tsunami. On top of the current known death toll, further 3,000 people are still listed as missing. Even among those that survived, many were unable to return home. According to the Japanese authorities, more than 333,000 are still living in some kind of temporary accommodation, including those staying with friends and family or in hotels.
National Police Agency of Japan figures show 300,000 buildings were destroyed and a further one million damaged, either by the quake, tsunami or resulting fires. Almost 4,000 roads, 78 bridges and 29 railways were also affected. Patrick Fuller, of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and who was there in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, tells of the "complete and utter devastation". "The only way I can describe how it was is that it was just like out of the Terminator movie-a futuristic scene of mangled and twisted wreckage." The Japanese authorities estimate a staggering 25 million tonnes of debris was generated in the three worst-affected prefectures. This is many times greater than the amount created by the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
Much of the rubble and waste has been cleared from the streets, but the Japanese environment ministry last month revealed only 5% had been disposed of and 72% was still being stored at temporary sites. Officials explained the delays had been caused by a number of factors, including difficulties finding sites for incinerators in affected areas and the reluctance in other prefectures of Japan to take the waste amid fears of radiation contamination. Environment Minister Goshi Hosono said the ministry's original goal of completing disposal by the end of March 2014 was unrealistic and urged other parts of the country to help out. However, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) says the Japanese authorities have made remarkable progress considering the upheaval and disruption caused by the disaster. The organisation praised Japan's emphasis on waste segregation and recycling and said lessons could be learned from the way the country had managed the quake and tsunami debris. The task for the Japanese government now is to help its people get back on their feet, given the inevitable crippling economic cost of such a disaster.
Japan has struggled to rebuild communities and to clean up radiation from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, whose reactors melted down after its cooling systems were disabled by the tsunami. The government has yet to devise a new energy strategy-a central issue for its struggling economy with all but two of the country's nuclear reactors offline. About half of those displaced are evacuees from areas near the nuclear plant. Hundreds of them filed a lawsuit demanding compensation from the government and the now-defunct plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., or TEPCO, for their suffering and losses. "Years after the disasters, neither the government nor TEPCO has clearly acknowledged their responsibility, nor have they provided sufficient support to cover the damages," said Izutaro Managi, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs.
Throughout the disaster zone, the tens of thousands of survivors living in temporary housing are impatient to get resettled, a process that could take up to a decade, officials say. "What I really want is to once again have a 'my home,'" said Migaku Suzuki, a 69-year-old farm worker in Rikuzentakata, who lost the house he had just finished building in the disaster. Suzuki also lost a son in the tsunami. Further south, in Fukushima prefecture, some 160,000 evacuees are uncertain if they will ever be able to return to homes around the nuclear power plant, were the meltdowns in three reactors spewed radiation into the surrounding soil and water. The lawsuit filed by a group of 800 people in Fukushima demands an apology payment of 50,000 yen ($625) a month for each victim until all radiation from the accident is wiped out, a process that could take decades. Another 900 plan similar cases in Tokyo and elsewhere. Managi said he and fellow lawyers hope to get 10,000 to join the lawsuits. Evacuees are anxious to return home but worried about the potential, still uncertain risks from exposure to the radiation from the disaster, the worst since Chernobyl in 1986. While there have been no clear cases of cancer linked to radiation from the plant, the upheaval in people's lives, uncertainty about the future and long-term health concerns, especially for children, have taken an immense psychological toll on thousands of residents.
Towns want to rebuild, but they face the stark reality of dwindling, aging populations that are shrinking further as residents give up on ever finding new jobs. The tsunami and nuclear crisis devastated local fish processing and tourism industries, accelerating a decline that began decades before. Meanwhile, the costly decommissioning the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant could take 40 years as its operator works on finding and removing melted nuclear fuel from inside, disposing the spent fuel rods and treating the many tons of contaminated waste water used to cool the reactors. Following the Fukushima disaster, Japan's 50 still viable nuclear reactors were shut down for regular inspections and then for special tests to check their disaster preparedness. Two were restarted last summer to help meet power shortages, but most Japanese remain opposed to restarting more plants.
Yuko Endo, village chief in Kawachi, said many residents might not go back if they were kept waiting too long. Restrictions on access are gradually being lifted as workers remove debris and wipe down roofs by hand. "If I were told to wait for two more years, I might explode," said Endo, who is determined to revive his town of mostly empty houses and overgrown field.
Last year, the Cabinet Office of Japan estimated it cost the country 16.9 trillion yen. But the country's national and local authorities believe the reconstruction will actually cost more than 23 trillion yen over a decade. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that the government intends to make "visible" reconstruction progress and accelerate resettlement of those left homeless by streamlining legal and administrative procedures many blame for the delays. "I pray that the peaceful lives of those affected can resume as soon as possible," Emperor Akihito said at a somber memorial service at Tokyo's National Theater. Since taking office in late December. Abe has made a point of frequently visiting the disaster zone, promising faster action and plans to raise the long-term reconstruction budget.
No comments:
Post a Comment