Five Years since March 11,2011

Minister’s Message

Five years have passed since March 11, 2011 when the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred. I feel the path towards reconstruction is becoming increasingly more of a reality day by day. We shall not forget that the reconstruction so far has been made possible because of your great support.
From the bottom of my heart, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the NPOs and volunteers that continued to offer the victims their support from the very beginning; the private sectors that offered their cooperation for the recovery of industries and livelihoods taking advantage of their various expertise; those that came to work onsite on unprecedented projects, such as responses to the nuclear accident, disposal of enormous amounts of debris, and upland relocation; members of support staff from all over Japan who offered assistances to affected local governments that faced many difficult challenges; members of the Self-Defense Forces, firefighters, and law enforcement who devoted their energy to rescue and searches for the missing; and all the people of Japan that have given their heart to the people of the disaster-affected areas and offered encouragement to the people in these areas, including donations. Although it is difficult to mention all the support, I would like to extend my most sincere appreciation.
The support is offered not only from all over Japan. We are also extremely grateful to have received support in various forms from over 160 countries and regions, as well as more than 40 international organizations.
Japan is now entering a period of “reconstruction and revitalization.” In 2020, Japan will host the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. Let’s call this event “Olympic Games for Recovery” and show the world that the affected areas have recovered from the disaster with the mobilization of all available resources throughout Japan.
With the opportunity of the five-year anniversary of the earthquake, I would like you to look back our experiences over these past five years and the state of reconstruction in the disaster-affected areas, and ask for continued warm support from the people of Japan as well as around the world in order to achieve the earliest possible recovery of the disaster-affected areas.

Tsuyoshi Takagi

Minister for Reconstruction

For more information:
Minister Takagi’s speech at Foreign Press Club (February 23, 2016) is available here.
Current Status of Reconstruction is available here.

Aerial Photographs of the affected areas.

Shooting Spot from the Air

■ 2011・2014 the shooting spot (8 locations: 3 in Iwate Prefecture・ 5 in Miyagi Prefecture）

ＩＤ	Pref	Municipalities	Point	the restoration and reconstruction project in the shooting location	2011 Image	2014 Image
①	Iwate Prefecture	Ofunato city	Ofunato station area District （Downtown area）	The land readjustment project of Ofunato station area District. The maintenance project of the reconstruction base from tsunami disaster. The restoration of Ofunato port. etc.	March,14	March,11
②		Rikuzentakata city	Takata District （Downtown area）	The land readjustment project of Takata・Imaizumi District. The disaster public housing improvement project of Shiwano District, etc	March,14	March,12
③		Rikuzentakata city	Hirota District	The promotion project of Kotomo District Collective Relocation for Disaster Prevention. The reconstruction of Kotomo Coast etc.	March,14	March,14
④	Miyagi Prefecture	Kesennuma city	Sakana town ・Minami town District （City Center）	The Restoration of Kesennuma port. The land readjustment project of Kaori District etc.	March,14	March,14
⑤		Kesennuma city	Iwaisaki District	The promotion project of Hashikaminagaisohama District Group Relocation for Disaster Prevention. The seawall restoration of Iwasaki Coast etc.	March,14	March,12
⑥		Minamisaniriku town	Shizugawa District （City Center）	The maintenance project of the reconstruction base from tsunami disaster of Shizugawa District etc.	March,14	March,12
⑦		Sendai city Shiogama city	Sendai Port	The restoration of Sendai port. The restoration of seaside protection forest in Sendai bay area.	March,13	March,14
⑧		Sendai city Natori city	The mouth of the Natori River	The restoration of seaside protection forest in Sendai bay area. The Group Relocation for Disaster Prevention and the disaster public housing improvement project of Shimomasuda District. The land readjustment project and The promotion project of Group Relocation for Disaster Prevention of Yuriage Disaster etc.	March,13	March,14

①Ofunato city, Ofunato Station area District ②Rikuzentakata city, Takata District ③Rikuzentakata city, Hirota District ④Kesennuma city, Sakana town・Minami town District ⑤Kesennuma city, Iwaisaki District ⑥Minamisanriku town, Shizugawa District ⑦Shiogama city・Sendai city Sendai port area District ⑧Sendai city・Natori city, The mouth of Natori River Area District