The three northeastern prefectures of the Tohoku region most affected by last year's disaster are stuck with mountains of debris, more than 20 million tons of the stuff.
The three northeastern prefectures of the Tohoku region most affected by last year's disaster are stuck with mountains of debris, more than 20 million tons of the stuff.
Removing and disposing of the wreckage remains a slow process, as well as an enormous obstacle to rebuilding efforts.
That is because few local governments in other regions are willing to accept the rubble for landfill in their backyards.
Iwate Prefecture is saddled with 4.75 million tons of debris, the equivalent of 11 years of garbage produced by its households. It has managed to dispose of only 8 percent of the debris.
Miyagi Prefecture has 15.69 million tons of debris, the equivalent of 19 years of household trash. Only 5 percent of the debris has been disposed of.
Fukushima Prefecture is left with 2.08 million tons.
An estimated 350,000 tons of debris has also piled up in the exclusion zone, which covers Okuma, site of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, and four nearby municipalities.
Because of radiation fears, the Fukushima debris almost certainly will have to be disposed of within the prefecture.
As yet, few details have emerged regarding the location of planned interim storage sites for radioactive soil from decontamination work.
Other prefectures will have to pitch in on the removal and disposal of debris from the stricken region, although most local governments are reluctant to cooperate.
Authorities of 29 prefectures, or 65 percent of the total surveyed, replied in an Asahi Shimbun survey last month that no local governments in their respective areas were considering accepting any of the debris.
So far, Aomori, Yamagata and Shizuoka prefectures, along with the Tokyo metropolitan government, have taken in rubble. Seven more prefectural governments are considering sharing the burden.
Some 830,000 tons of rubble were expected to be accepted by Tokyo and six prefectures when the survey was carried out. The figure represents about 20 percent of the target the central government is urging other prefecture to take in.