Three years after the magnitude-9.0 earthquake and tsunami that ravaged northeastern Japan, a large majority of survivors surveyed by The Asahi Shimbun believe the disaster is being forgotten and reconstruction has stalled.
Three years after the magnitude-9.0 earthquake and tsunami that ravaged northeastern Japan, a large majority of survivors surveyed by The Asahi Shimbun believe the disaster is being forgotten and reconstruction has stalled.
The survey, conducted in February by mail and personal interviews, covered about 1,000 survivors or their guardians. A total of 726 valid responses were received. The same group was surveyed last year.
In the latest survey, a combined 76 percent of respondents said they either “feel” or “feel to some extent” that the memories of the March 11, 2011, Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami are fading.
The figure was the highest at 83 percent in Fukushima Prefecture, where the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant suffered a triple meltdown. Next was Iwate Prefecture at 74 percent followed by 72 percent in Miyagi Prefecture.
A combined 71 percent said the reconstruction efforts in affected communities have made either “little” or “no” headway.
Survivors were also asked what impact they thought the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 will have on the disaster-hit areas, with multiple selections being allowed.
Seventy-five percent said an Olympic-induced building boom will delay reconstruction efforts, while 63 percent said the Games will divert public attention and further overshadow the disaster.
Only 13 percent said the Olympics will help highlight the plight of the disaster-hit areas abroad, and 10 percent said it will speed measures to contain the Fukushima nuclear crisis and rebuild affected communities.
The survey found survivors remain worried about their daily lives, such as making ends meet and securing jobs, though the respondents appeared a little more optimistic than last year.
Those surveyed were asked to cite one or more sources of concern for their future.
Topping the list was their “economic outlook, such as living expenses,” which was selected by 58 percent, down from 63 percent in the 2013 survey. That was followed by “keeping or securing jobs,” chosen by 39 percent, down from 41 percent the previous year.
Survivors in Fukushima Prefecture are far more worried about the contamination from the nuclear accident and the length of time they are forced to live as evacuees than their counterparts in the two other prefectures.
Fifty-two percent of Fukushima respondents chose “radiation-derived health hazards” as a concern for their future lives, compared with 6 percent in Miyagi and 5 percent in Iwate.
Fifty-one percent in Fukushima selected “health problems stemming from evacuation,” compared with 25 percent in Miyagi and 24 percent in Iwate.
The survey also indicates that health and welfare policy issues are of ever-increasing concern for the survivors.
When asked to cite up to three issues that the central and local governments should put priority on, coming in second was “aid in medical fees,” selected by 38 percent, up from 34 percent in the 2013 survey.
Nineteen percent picked “expansion of nursing care services, as well as rebuilding and adding welfare facilities,” up from 12 percent.