Like most small towns in Japan, Kesennuma in Miyagi Prefecture has a shopping street where generations have bought their fresh fish, seeds to plant and material for their kimonos.
Like most small towns in Japan, Kesennuma in Miyagi Prefecture has a shopping street where generations have bought their fresh fish, seeds to plant and material for their kimonos.
But while the “Ichibangai Shotengai” shopping street has weathered the competition from large-scale retailers and the lack of successors to take over some of the mom-and-pop stores, the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunumi of March 11 dealt it a fatal blow.
Hideki Shimada, 53, operator of a kimono shop, pointed to damaged stores on the street one after another and said, “They are all scheduled to be dismantled.”
Following the tsunami, two-thirds of the 40 outlets on the street cannot construct new buildings as they are located in a zone where construction is restricted for planned start-up of recovery programs.
Only about 10 of the Ichibangai's 40 outlets have been able to reopen after their buildings were repaired. Owners of some of the remaining 30 outlets have decided to give up or move their stores to other locations.
That's the sad fate of many of these tsunami-damaged shopping streets in Miyagi and Iwate prefectures, where similar associations have been forced to disband.
One is Minami-Sanrikucho Shogyo Kyodo Kumiai (Minami-Sanriku town commerce cooperative association) in Minami-Sanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, a southern neighbor of Kesennuma, which decided to dissolve in late July.
The association had issued merchandise coupons and point cards for more than 30 years. Last year, it renewed machines for point cards. However, 106 of the association's 111 member outlets suffered damages in the tsunami, and there is no sign that the damaged outlets can reopen their businesses.
In such a dire situation, the association concluded that it couldn't continue.
In Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, a northern neighbor of Kesennuma, Rikuzentakata Shogyo Shinko Kyodo Kumiai (Rikuzentakata commerce promotion cooperative association) decided to disband in June, after about 90 percent of its member outlets suffered tsunami-related damage.
In coastal areas of Miyagi and Iwate prefectures, there had been about 40 commerce cooperative associations to promote businesses of shopping streets before the March 11 disaster. Following the dissolution of the ones in Minami-Sanriku and Rikuzentakata, however, other associations are also likely to consider disbandment.
On the other end of the spectrum, supermarkets and other large-scale retailers are enjoying larger sales than the corresponding period last year as they can meet a wide range of demands from consumers in the aftermath of the disaster.
Before the disaster, supermarkets and department stores that offer a wide range of goods had been facing difficulties due to growing competition from popular retailers such as Uniqlo casual wear stores and other outlets that specialize in certain products. Some analysts had even said the roles of these supermarket and department stores had ended.
In tsunami-damaged areas, consumers are shopping at these retailers again since they can buy anything needed there. One of those stores is Maiya, based in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture.
The sales of Maiya's outlet in Kesennuma have jumped 2.6 times compared to the same period last year. The sales at its outlet in Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture, has also increased by 40 percent. Sales at major supermarket operator Aeon Co.'s outlet in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, has also jumped by 50 percent.
Evacuee Yumiko Ono, 58, who is now living in a temporary housing facility in Minami-Sanriku, goes to a supermarket in an inland area every week on a free bus. The bus service is operated by Ujie Super, which is based in Tome, Miyagi Prefecture, and operates 30 outlets in the prefecture.
Ujie Super plans to offer the free bus service until its outlet in Minami-Sanriku is reopened.
Still, some associations of stores are determined to remain open for business, despite suffering devastating damage in the tsunami. One is Omachi Shotengai Shinko Kumiai (Omachi shopping street promotion association) in Kamaishi.
Ten of its 55 members died in the March 11 disaster. In late August, however, the association reopened a tsunami-damaged parking building after repairing it.
At the present time, only 15 of the outlets on the shopping street are planning to restart their businesses. But Keiji Odajima, 64, association director, said, “We reopened the operations of the parking building in a hurry to inspire shopowners. The parking building will also serve as a ‘money tree’ to help recovery of our shopping street.”