A Report on Second Visit to Tohoku, Oct/Nov 2011

A Report on Second Visit to Tohoku

October/November 2011
Atsuko Toko Fish

Beautiful Ripe Persimmons  in Fukushima (unfortunately not allowed to eat due to radiation)

Beginning of foliage in Fukushima

1. Purpose of the visit

• To see the results of JDRFB Funding - Meetings with Round 1 Grantees: ICA Japan, All Hands, Ofuro Project, MIT 3/11 Initiative, HANDS, Ban Architects

• Assess current situation in Tohoku

• Looking for new opportunity for mid- and long-term support for Tohoku

2. Summary of Findings

Cleaning Up 

• Impressive progress in clean up, including roads, ocean and debris, compared to April.

• Challenges: Where will the debris go? What will Japan do with it? - Solution example: City of Ofunato recycles debris for reconstruction for land and cement material.

• The majority of the roads have been recovered. Shinkansen (bullet train) is running. However, some local trains and bipass roads are not repaired yet, which causes difficulty in transportation and communication.

Temporary Housing

• Data as of November 2011 
  1. The total number of evacuee: Over 330,000 
  2. The total number of evacuees in Temporary Housing: 256,989
  3. Evacuees in Temporary housing by prefecture: Iwate – 43,406; Miyagi – 121,519; Fukushima – 92,064

• The majority of evacuees are living in temporary housing now.

• Challenges:
  1. Housing conditions are not adequate and locations are isolated from everyday life.
  2. Evacuees are facing the reality of responsibility - paying bills, getting jobs, compensation from Tokyo Electric and government aid was already used for purchasing necessary furniture for the temporary housing.
  3. Ten months of unemployment compensation from the Government will expire by the end of January 2012.
  4. Community revitalization - This is an immediate need for residents of temporary housing. Resolution is necessary for issues regarding the elderly, the handicapped, physical and psychological health care, employment, transportation, shopping for food and supplies, and creating meaningful roles for women in the community. This is where NGOs and volunteers can provide continuous support.
  5. Need for community centers where temporary housing residents can get together for communication, information, activities and maybe appointments with doctors and nurses. 

Government Temporary Housing (Onagawa)

Government Temporary Housing (Minamisanriku)

Ban Architects Temporary Housing (Onagawa) / Using shipping containers.  Quality of building structure and living conditions are excellent.  

Interior of Ban Architects temporary housing

Ban Architects designed a Community Market in the center of the temporary housing site.

Business

• Temporary shops and restaurants are open along the road but far from temporary housing sites.

• Some parts in Northern Japan have started fishing, scallop bedding, and processing fish products again with the exception of the Fukushima prefecture.

• Challenges: Small business owners would like to be back in business, but face several issues - no place to build, no start up funds, difficult to get materials and products, and more generally there continues to be less commerce in these affected areas. 

Radiation in Fukushima  

• Challenges:
  1. The Government’s has only one standard regulation regarding radiation levels. Fukushima is a big prefecture and each city has different radiation levels; however, the government’s uniform, overarching radiation regulations prevents areas with low levels of radiation from moving forward. For example, it prevents fisherman from working even though they are fully prepared to start working again and more importantly it is safe for them to do so in certain areas. The government does not provide enough detailed information on specific areas.
  2. Due to the unconfirmed rumors and misinformation, much of the produce and fish from Fukushima have been banned from being sold in markets. This severely damages the fishing industry and local businesses in Fukushima. 

• ICA Japan workshop with Fishery Union Executives in Sohma/Futaba resolved some issues. The misinformation regarding radiation data needs to be corrected and the correct information needs to be publicized through various media outlets to prevent more damage to the fishing industry in Fukushima. However, this is not an easy task because the correct data needs to be in line with the central Government’s information. 

Workshop with ICA Japan and Fishery Union

The JDRFB Funding was utilized to build a new office for the Sohma/Futaba Fishery Union. 

3. Remaining Issues to Address

• The needs of each village and city are very diverse; therefore, it is difficult for the Central Government to meet the needs of each province without the help of local community leaders and the people. These leaders and community members need to come up with clear visions and innovative ideas of what their communities need and want, and furthermore, they need to work with NGOs, volunteers, and the government to develop solid implementation plans.
  1. Community revitalization plan
  2. Permanent residential plan
  3. Infrastructure plan

• Lack of communication and dialogue between local leaders and central government.

• Lack of leadership– deceased or still suffering from devastation, and no vision. 

• Good leadership example in Ofunato: Mayor of Ofunato has a great vision for comprehensive city reconstruction plan including infrastructure, permanent housing, building new industry and job creation. The Mayor has already submitted the development plan to the Central Government for funding. Ofunato's vision can be the role model for other city's development.

• Many Tohoku areas are taking place of election now (mid Nov.) which delays various decision making in the community.

• How can we encourage the younger generation to remain in or move to Tohoku and help support the revitalization of their communities?  This is another reason why great attention and efforts is needed to put into redeveloping the fishing, agricultural industry, as well as creating the new alternative energy business.

4. Highlights of Findings 

• Public sector officials acknowledged the power and productivity of NGOs/Volunteer work.  Government finally ready to collaborate with NGOs to rebuild communities.
• New civil society (civilian and NGO) leadership was born as a result of the major disaster.

5. Next Steps 

• Job Creation for individuals 

• Funding needed in order to reignite the business industry

• Implement a plan for infrastructure development in affected cities and villages - issues involving roads, water pipes, and electricity should be addressed

• Building permanent housing - Where, what and how?

The single pine tree that survived the disaster - A symbol of hope

Let's not make Tohoku yesterday's news.