Ten years later, trauma from the tsunami in Japan continues to hurt

Ten years after earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan, the lives of many survivors remain on hold.

On March 11, 2011, one of the most violent earthquakes on record triggered a massive tsunami, killing more than 18,000 people and causing catastrophic nuclear fusions at the plant. Fukushia Diichi. Almost half a million people have been displaced. Tens of thousands of people have not yet returned home.

Over 30 trillion yen (280 billion dollars) have so far been devoted to the reconstruction, but even the Minister of Reconstruction Katsuei hirasawa He recently admitted that although the government has proceeded with the construction of new buildings, it has invested less in helping people rebuild their lives, for example by providing trauma mental health services.

The Associated Press spoke to people affected by disasters about their progress and what remains to be done.

“As long as my body is moving”

Yasuo Takamatsu, 64, lost his wife, Yuko, when the tsunami hit Onagawa, in the prefecture of Miyagi.

He’s been looking for her ever since.

He even had his diver license in search of his remains and for seven years he did weekly dives: 470 and so on. “I still think I could be somewhere close“, He said. Besides his solo dives, once a month he joins the local authorities in search of some 2,500 people whose remains remain to be found in the region.

Takamatsu He said the city’s scars had mostly healed, “but recovering people’s hearts … will take time“.

So far he has found albums, clothes and other items, but nothing belonging to his wife. He says he will continue to look for his wife “while my body is moving“. “In the last text she sent me, she said, “Are you okay? I want to go back home“, die.”I’m sure you still wanna come home“.

“Back to the beginning”

Just a month after a tsunami reaching 17 meters high crashed in the city, Michihiro Kono took over the reins of his family’s soy sauce business. That he was able to run the business for two centuries is a miracle, he says. The precious soybean yeast was only saved because he had donated part of it to a university lab.

Over the past decade, Kono has been working on rebuilding the business in Iwate Prefecture and this year will complete construction of a new factory, replacing one that was destroyed., on the same land where his family started producing soy sauce in 1807. They even launched a sauce called “Miracle” in honor of the saved yeast.

“This is a critical time to see if I can do something meaningful in the next 10 years.“Said the owner of Yagisawa Shoten Co. “I was born here now I’m back on the run“.

But challenges remain: the city’s population has fallen by more than 20%, to around 18,000, and it’s trying to build business networks beyond the city. Kono He often thinks of the people killed by the tsunami, with whom he used to discuss plans for revitalizing the city. “These people wanted to build a big city and I want to do something that makes them say, “Well done, you did it”, when I see them again in the afterlife.“, He said.

“Who wants to go home?”

About 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of the destroyed nuclear power plant, El Arrocero Naoto Matsumura He defied the government’s evacuation order ten years ago and stayed on his farm to protect his land and livestock left behind by his neighbors.

He is always there.

Most of the city of Tomioka reopened in 2017. But dozens of neighboring houses around Matsumura they remain empty, leaving the area in deep darkness at night.

Fukushima Prefecture City Central Station has been renovated. A new shopping center has been built. But less than 10% of the 16,000 inhabitants of Tomioka They returned after huge levels of radiation escaped the factory and forced the city and surrounding areas to evacuate. Parts of the city remain sealed; abandoned houses and businesses.

“It took hundreds of years of history and effort to build this city and it was instantly destroyed.“, He said. “I grew up here … but it’s not my home anymore“.

It took six years for the evacuation order to be lifted, but many townspeople have already found jobs and housing elsewhere. Half of them say they have decided not to come back, according to a municipal poll.

It was the same in the region. In Tomioka, radioactive waste resulting from decontamination work in town is always stored in the closed area. “Who wants to come to such a place?“, question Matsumura. “I don’t see much of the future for this city“.

As a company, Matsumura He has several cows, a pony, and family hunting dogs that help him keep wild boars away. The cows are descendants of those on neighboring farms he turned down, in protest, after the government ordered the slaughter of thousands over fears of radiation.

This spring, for the first time since the disaster, the 62-year-old farmer is planning an experimental rice crop, as well as expanding his beekeeping efforts.

“I will stay here until the end of my life“, dice.

“His house is still there”

Yuya Hatakeyama He was 14 when he was forced to leave Tomioka after the disaster.

Now, at 24, the former third baseman of the Red hopes of Fukushima, a regional professional league baseball team, is in its first year working for the city council of Tomioka – but has not yet returned to live in the city, like many who come from the outskirts for their work.

Hatakeyama has bittersweet memories of Tomioka. The now closed area includes the park Yonomori, where people gathered for the Cherry Festival. Decontamination work has been ramped up in the region and the city plans to lift the rest of the entry bans in 2023.

“I want to contact residents, especially young people, to let them know their house is still there“, He said Hatakeyama. He wants young families to play in the park one day again, just like he did with his father.

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