It has been 11 years since the Great East Japan Earthquake and the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station of Tokyo Electric Power Company.

As the years go by, the challenge is how to pass on the lessons learned, and events are held in various places to commemorate the victims and convey their memories.

Over 22,200 dead / missing

At around 2:46 pm on March 11, 2011, a huge earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 occurred off the coast of Tohoku, and a tsunami with a height of more than 10 meters rushed to the coasts of Tohoku and Kanto.



According to the National Police Agency, the number of dead and missing persons confirmed so far is 18,423.



In addition, according to the Reconstruction Agency and each prefecture, the number of people who have been certified as so-called "earthquake-related deaths" due to poor physical condition due to prolonged evacuation life is 3786 as of this month, an increase of 11 in the past year. I did.



There are 22,209 dead and missing, including "related deaths."

Over 38,000 evacuees

The number of people forced to evacuate is 38,139 as of last month, according to the Reconstruction Agency's summary, although the number continues to decline.

Population continues to decline There are also movements aiming for return

The population is also declining.



Of the 40 local governments in the three prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima, which were severely damaged by the earthquake and the nuclear accident, 28 have a population that has decreased by more than 10% compared to before the earthquake, more than half of the total. ..



In Futaba Town, Fukushima Prefecture, where the evacuation of all residents continues, the evacuation order for some areas is scheduled to be lifted in June, and we are aiming to start the return of residents.

How to prevent isolation

With financial support declining, the challenge is how to prevent the isolation of residents.



In the disaster public housing in Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima, 72 people died in the last year without being seen by anyone.



This year, ten years after the earthquake, the social welfare councils of each municipality that conduct watching activities have reduced their financial resources and personnel, and the new coronavirus has reduced opportunities for interaction.

“Reduced to talk about”

How to pass on memories and lessons is also an issue.



In a questionnaire conducted by NHK on the WEB for people living on the coasts of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima and in areas where evacuation orders were issued due to the nuclear accident, has there been any change in talking about the earthquake disaster compared to last year? About


▼ "Increased" is 7%,


▼ "No change" is 38%,


▼ "Decreased" is 45%, etc.



Due to the fact that 10 years have passed since the outbreak and the influence of the new corona, many local governments have changed to a form of offering a flower stand instead of holding the memorial service that they had been doing.

It is important to pass on lessons learned from the assumption of a huge earthquake and tsunami.

On the other hand, the threat of earthquakes and tsunamis is imminent in Japan, including the affected areas.



In December of last year, the damage estimation of the country of the huge earthquake and tsunami in the "Kuril Trench" and "Japan Trench" off the coast from Hokkaido to Iwate Prefecture was announced, and in the worst case, the death toll was 100,000 in the Kuril Trench. People ▽ It is said that there are 199,000 people in the Japan Trench.



It is important to know what happened 11 years ago and to continue to convey memories and lessons.