Process of Recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake with Pictures and Data

Chapter 3 uses photographs to illustrate and summarize the damage and recovery process of the Great East Japan Earthquake. About 500 km of eastern Japan coastline was affected by the combined disasters of earthquake, the tsunami, and the nuclear power plant accident. In addition to more than 22,000 people who died or remain missing, 37,855 people were displaced to other prefectures. Damage to human life was enormous and disproportionately affected elderly people. Temporary housing was provided rapidly. Some were rented as emergency housing, including domiciles outside the original settlement. Later, town reconstruction in disaster-affected areas has progressed with an emphasis on safety. Still, severe population outflows have occurred from coastal areas. Within the affected area, the only population to have increased was that in the Sendai metropolitan area. Effects on manufacturing industries have spread nationwide throughout the supply chain. Even in the Chubu region, which is far from the affected area, the impact on manufacturing production was significant because of the propagation of the shortage of intermediate goods produced in the affected area. The effect was most notable in automobile industry, in which a multi-layered supply chain is highly developed. The recovery level of fisheries remains at about 70% of the pre-disaster level. Tourism of the area has been left behind by a national trend of inbound demand. Fishery and tourism have been very important for the affected area to capture external demand. Inactivity of these industries has been a critical obstacle for the recovery.