From the ground four months after the disaster in northeastern Japan

In Kesennuma, little has improved for evacuees since the earthquake/tsunami disaster of March 11, 2011. But the world has started to forget. A report from the ground on July 13, 2011:

This year, July temperatures in Tohoku have hit a record high of 35C. The heat and humidity in the elementary and secondary school gyms where many evacuees are still staying is debilitating.

4 units of temporary housing barracks (foreground)

The right to move away from evacuation centers into temporary housing is decided by lottery. But once people move into temporary housing, a new dark reality hits: these barracks are identical one-room boxes built one beside the other in isolated places with no communities around. They provide a roof, but not a new perspective of how to start a new life after having lost family, friends, homes and jobs in the disaster in March. People have the right to stay in temporary housing for 2 years. After that, they will have to find their own place to live.

*The elderly are at a loss of how to make a living once they move into the barracks. They often don't get any further help once they have moved in.

*Living as a couple or family in such tiny spaces leads to much stress.

*People moving into barracks don't know their neighbours as temporary housing is awarded by lottery. Walls between barracks are very thin, and residents can hear everything that is going on next door.

Funeral goods and incense are prominent in every super market

This is the reality four months after the disaster. Kesennuma is only one community among hundreds that have been affected. More than 500'000 people have been displaced by the disaster.

Not only the world, but also regions in Japan not directly affected by the disaster are starting to forget or to ignore what is happening in the northeast.

We must use our imagination and cooperate with the people in the disaster area so that they can build a new future.

July 13, 2011: Four months after the disaster, the roads are clean, and much debris have been piled up in garbage plots. But for the displaced people, the situation has not improved.

July 13, 2011, Yasuo Yoshikawa

(Translated and edited for the English version by B.Y.)