Inability in Finding New House

After five years from devastation of tsunami and the severe nuclear accident, temporary houses for sufferers and evacuees are still scattered around Tohoku area of Japan. Although the residents have been hoping to find permanent houses, one tenth of all have not determined where to go after temporary houses will be dismantled. Passed years spoiled their independence.

There are 54 thousands of temporary houses in the three prefectures of Tohoku region, Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima. Although Disaster Relief Law determines that such temporary houses, that are simple and fragile, must be dismantled within two years, many of them still remain with consecutive two-year extensions of the limit, because the devastation was exceptionally severe.

To encourage independent life, local governments were making effort to urge them find permanent houses. Prefectural government of Iwate and Miyagi categorized some residents to leave their temporary houses by the end of this month, while others in severely devastated area can stay one more year. The evacuated people from radioactive damage in Fukushima can live in temporary houses longer. But, support for voluntary evacuees will be finished in March next year.

According to the research by Asahi Shimbun, 670 families in temporary houses in Iwate out of all 8650 have not decided where to go after the time limit. In Miyagi, 2030 families out of 19,800 are still looking for alternative place to live. While public houses have been built for the people who lost their houses by tsunami, some have not registered for moving in.

The main reason is poverty. Residents of temporary houses do not have to pay for their rent. Once they leave them, they have to pay that from their wallet. Some residents are too dependent on their life without paying for house to be independent. Even new public houses for suffered people requires small amount of rent. They are basically reluctant to pay for their house.

Another reason should be health. A number of people have illness, cancer or depression for example, in their uneasy life in small and shabby temporary houses. They will be supported in the community of temporary residents by local government. But, once they leave the community, they may be out of public support. Worrying their health or difficulty of finding new doctor, the residents cannot find new house.

The same kind of problem was seen in Hanshin Great Earthquake in 1995. With consistent effort of local government, temporary houses were eliminated within five years. Local governments in Tohoku will have to continue their efforts for consultation for new houses, maintaining communities or support for moving as Kobe did two decades ago.