OTSUCHI, Iwate Prefecture--What kind of business will be the first to recover when a town is trying to rebuild from a devastating disaster?
OTSUCHI, Iwate Prefecture--What kind of business will be the first to recover when a town is trying to rebuild from a devastating disaster?
Here in Otsuchi, it is the town's only real estate agency.
Despite losing his office in the tsunami triggered by the March 11 quake, owner Kazuo Ieko, 62, was back in business in late March, operating out of his home. I went there looking for a place to live.
"Under the current circumstances, even a family of seven has to squeeze into a place with a kitchen and only one room. There is no house to rent to you," he told me then.
Several days later, however, he contacted me about an acquaintance who was willing to take me on as a boarder.
In April, Ieko moved his real estate office into a small makeshift building that stands alone amid the debris. He was way ahead of many others.
Two months on, his was the first business after the disaster to insert ads in local newspapers, urging Otsuchi residents to work together to rebuild their hometown.
Ieko currently places a priority on helping people with disabilities and senior citizens find housing.
Iwate Prefecture is offering victims of the disaster the chance to live rent-free for two years in regular housing rented by the prefectural government.
Ieko is hunting for housing for the prefectural program because he believes they will better serve survivors' needs than will the temporary housing units now under construction, which are cramped and inconvenient.
He often reveals his impatience with the slow pace of reconstruction.
His comment, "I am frustrated by local officials' response," is becoming somewhat of a mantra for him.
When a landlord who offered to let his land be used for temporary housing units became angry with insolent town officials, Ieko went out of his way to persuade the landlord to participate.
The town's coastal area was completely leveled by the tsunami. Yet it was the only area with sizable flat spaces within the town limits.
Town officials sidestepping the decision as to where houses and shops should be allowed to be built has stalled reconstruction.
"If this situation continues, everybody will desert the town," Ieko said.
Ieko is constantly working hard to ensure that worst-case scenario doesn't become a reality.