9 Years Will Not Rebuild-Reconstruction Calendar for 2000 Affected People, March 4, 21:39

It's been nine years since that day. NHK conducted a large-scale questionnaire to read the victims' "now." What emerged from the voices of the approximately 2,000 survivors was the fact that many survivors were unable to realize recovery and still felt that they were victims. (Mr. Mai Nagano, Keijiro Saito, Reporter of Social Affairs)

Graphic representation of the recovery of victims

This is a questionnaire for victims who hears the voices of victims nine years before the Great East Japan Earthquake. From December last year to January, more than 4,000 people, including victims of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima, as well as evacuees from the nuclear accident, received responses from 48%, or 1965.

What we focused on this time was a survey using a technique called the “Reconstruction Calendar”. When did you realize the recovery and reconstruction of your feelings and living after the earthquake? By listening to each of the 12 items such as "house", "work", and "household", we will find out in what areas and how much the victims' realization of recovery is increasing, and what remains as issues. .

For example, the long-standing problem of housing, such as prolonged living in temporary housing and delays in the maintenance of disaster public housing. The percentage of respondents who answered "finally resolved" was 6% one year after the earthquake, but five years after the earthquake, when the development of public housing for disasters and land readjustment progressed rapidly. It rose rapidly later and reached 50% in 6 years. To date, 75% have seen three out of four people realize recovery. Rather than simply asking `` Yes '' or `` No '', by asking when they came to think so, each victim can visualize the process up to the current state / mental state in the form of a line graph It is an attempt to try.

What was revived What was not

Here are the survey results for all 12 items. Those who think "It is hard to see" or "I do not know what it is". Don't be afraid to stay with us for a while now. According to the "Reconstruction Calendar," reaching 50% is a measure of the extent to which the field has been reconstructed to a certain extent. So, first, let's take a look at what has exceeded 50% so far and what has not.

These seven items reached 50% by the quake nine years. 1 and 3 exceeded 50% by the 3rd year of the earthquake, and subsequently 4, 5, 7 and 12 exceeded 50% one after another. In addition, 11 grew significantly from last year to over 50%.

On the other hand, 2, 6, 8, and 9 are all around 40%. 10 is only 18%. On the hardware front, many affected people have come to realize the recovery, but it has become clear that the disaster is still casting a large shadow on local economies and households.

Reconstruction slower than Hanshin / Awaji

This tendency has been observed in past earthquakes. This is a comparison with the results of the "Reconstruction Calendar" survey conducted by experts 10 years after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. In Hanshin-Awaji, most items exceeded 50% by the 2nd year of the earthquake, but "local economy has survived the effects of the earthquake" did not reach 50% until the 10th year of the earthquake . If you compare the results in this way, you can clearly see the difficulty of economic recovery, the slow pace of recovery after the Great East Japan Earthquake, and the low realization of recovery.

Clearly the difference between the three prefectures

Here is a comparison of the survey results by prefecture. Miyagi's 10 items out of 12 items and Iwate's 7 items reached 50%, while Fukushima's 4 items. The low level of Fukushima's reconstruction is noticeable.

Professor Reo Kimura of Hyogo Prefectural University, who specializes in disaster prevention sociology, was in charge of analyzing the questionnaire.

Professor Kimura: “Iwate and Miyagi are facing a problem of how to create a new area after the tsunami, so reconstruction is likely to be progressing steadily, albeit with a delay. In the remaining Fukushima, it is still difficult to see the progress of restoration and reconstruction because it is not clear what to do to make the area safe and secure and what to do to continue living there. Maybe that has affected the responses of Fukushima survivors. ''

New challenges highlighted

Among the 12 survey items, our interviewees noted that 38% of the respondents said they "were not aware that they were victims," ​​meaning that those who felt they were still victims were 62 It is data that there is also%. According to a 10-year expert survey of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, there is a 2.5% increase at 25%.

What is the background of the persistent “disaster victim awareness”?

Why are so many people still feeling themselves as victims? We headed to Minamisoma City, Fukushima Prefecture to listen to the victims who still said they were conscious.

"The shops on the station streets are closing one after another. It is still far from revitalizing the whole town without the young people returning. How many decades later will it be possible to live a normal ordinary life?"

Kimiko Sagawa (73) spelled out the free text box as follows. In Haramachi, where he lives, the designation of “Emergency Evacuation Preparatory Area” was lifted six months after the nuclear accident, but the younger child-raising generation who evacuated did not return. Over the past nine years, bicycle shops, cafes, handicraft shops, shoe stores, cafeterias, etc. have disappeared one after another from the station shopping street where many specialty shops were lined up, and the shutter became noticeable. Ms. Sagawa himself lost her worthwhile job because a local hospital, which worked as a laboratory technician, moved due to a shortage of doctors and nurses. With pensions, households are no longer able to afford.

Mr. Sagawa: "Before the earthquake, if you walked along the shopping streets, there were a lot of people with children, but now you can't pass each other. I see that the effects of the quake are growing year by year, rather than being restored ... "

Another keyword

The local economy is dying and declining, and households are shrinking. As we analyzed the data, it became clear that in addition to these delays in economic recovery, there is another factor behind the persistent awareness of victims.

Cross-analysis of the answers to the other questions, "People who do not feel they are victims" and "People who feel they are victims," ​​showed that there was a particularly large difference in these three. item. For example, to date, 37% of respondents have answered that "the local economy has survived the effects of the earthquake," while 37% of those who did not feel that they were victims. For all three items, there was a large difference of more than 30 points, such as only 4% of those who felt that they were people.

The background of the consciousness of "I feel that I am a victim" is not only related to the realization of economic recovery, but also to the realization of "local activities". Looking at the free descriptions of those who answered, "I feel I am a victim," there were many statements that emphasized the importance of revitalizing local communities.

We can judge that the maintenance on the hardware side has become a situation where a certain prospect can be opened. On the other hand, the population that has declined due to the earthquake, the shrinking local economy, and the destruction of local communities have been irreversible, and the outlook is extremely dark. (Miyako City, Iwate Prefecture, male in their 70s)

Interaction with people is extremely low compared to living in a temporary housing complex. After some of the damage from the disaster has faded, a sense of collapse is born again. I think it takes a lot of time to rebuild the mind. (Male, 80s, Ishinomaki, Miyagi)

Every year, along with the NHK interview group, Professor Kimura analyzes the victims' questionnaire, and says that efforts for reconstruction are at a new stage.

Prof. Kimura: The soft issues that “regional economy” and “regional connections” are important factors for recovery are clearly reflected in the numbers because of the timing of the nine years following the earthquake, when the hard recovery was advanced. I think it is necessary to focus not only on individual support but also on community support in order to achieve the "reconstruction" desired by victims. "

Reconstruction period Beyond

"Travel the remaining lives alive"
"Today ahead of today, tomorrow ahead of today, one step forward"
"After 10 years, I want to eliminate the title of victim."
"I'm struggling with what is true reconstruction."

Among the voices from the 2,000 victims, there were a number of positive ones, but struggling to wipe out the consciousness of the victims and asking themselves what `` reconstruction '' was for me There were many spellings. Last year, the government announced a policy to extend the deadline for establishing the Reconstruction Agency. Ten years after the earthquake, and beyond. Now that we are about to complete the “hard reconstruction”, it is necessary to use the voices of the victims for future support and take the “reconstruction” to a new stage.

Social Affairs Reporter
Mai Nagano

Keijiro Saito, Reporter, Social Affairs Department