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The Fukushima prefectural government finally set up an animal protection headquarters on April 15, 2011, more than a month after the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
The Miyagi and Iwate prefectural governments established similar organizations about 10 days after the disaster as they had concluded contracts with related organizations in advance. However, the Fukushima prefectural government had not done so. Therefore, it took time to coordinate the efforts of related organizations.
On the other hand, the government of Niigata Prefecture, which accepted about 10,000 evacuees, showed a much quicker response.
Using experience gained from two major earthquakes--the 2004 Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake and the 2007 Niigata Chuetsu-oki Earthquake--the Niigata prefectural government set up its animal protection headquarters only a week after the March 11, 2011, disaster.
All 30 municipalities in the prefecture established systems to accept pets. Therefore, evacuees were able to live with their dogs or cats in evacuation centers.
In May 2011, the Fukushima prefectural government’s food and sanitation division, which is also in charge of animal protection, began to receive inquiries such as, “Is it possible to enter evacuation centers in Fukushima Prefecture with our pets?”
Those inquiries were from people who had evacuated to Niigata Prefecture but later returned to Fukushima Prefecture.
The Fukushima prefectural government had not considered establishing evacuation centers exclusively for people who had evacuated with their pets.
Veterinarian Jun Kawamata, 53, of Fukushima city, was negotiating with a prefectural government-affiliated organization managing the Azuma Sports Park, the largest evacuation center in Fukushima city, where about 2,400 evacuees were living.
“People with pets are living in their cars as they are not allowed to enter evacuation centers with them. I’m worried that if it becomes hot, they could suffer heatstrokes. You should set up facilities to accommodate pets,” Kawamata told officials of the organization.
However, they rejected the suggestion.
“Even people are cramped in evacuation centers. It is impossible to make space for animals. If we do so, we could receive complaints from evacuees,” one official said.
However, Kawamata repeatedly visited the organization. Then, in mid-May, it finally allowed him to use part of the parking lot as a space for pets.
In early June, the facility, called “Pet Village,” was completed there in a week. A company engaged in pet-related businesses supported its construction at Kawamata’s request.
The facility had two buildings, one for dogs and the other for cats. It was equipped with a water supply and air-conditioning systems and 25 dogs and cats were housed in the facility.
Thanks to Pet Village, Sakae Sato, 68, who had evacuated from Minami-Soma city with his dog and cat, was able to sleep on a floor for the first time in 80 days. He felt the blood flow to the tips of his legs once again.
Until then, he had lived in his car or on stairways installed on the outer walls of buildings. He had entered evacuation centers only to receive aid supplies. From late March 2011, it became difficult for him to grip things with his left hand. As a result, he frequently dropped cups. He also had trouble walking. A doctor told him that he might be suffering from economy-class syndrome (venous thrombosis), which forms blood clots within a vein.
“As I was always with my pet dog and cat, I didn’t feel loneliness. I was able to relax,” Sato said, adding, “Unless I was with them, my appearance would have become older.”
However, numbness in his hands remains.
Sato left the evacuation center in mid-August 2011. The Pet Village finished its mission in about three months.
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