At least 47,000 evacuees still in temporary housing 1 year after Kumamoto quakes

Let's remember that most of those people were voluntary evacuees. Who would want to leave new, free housing?

But most of them chose to be there, and don't want to leave

@klausdorth

I was going to say much the same thing... but what else can one expect from our Dear Leader ? Talk about an egoist... he lives in a big house with all necessary comforts and "jets" around the world at taxpayer's expense, "giving" money (he doesn't have) to other countries... I feel a "shinzo-attack" coming on...

But how can this be? I have read over and over in the press that the only reasons people are not cared for in disasters in Japan are radiation and evil utilities.

Do you mean to say that there are people in Kumamoto and in Tohoku who don't want to return to their homes or communities, even if they are able to do so safely? Well, I heard just last week that a public official had to apologize for saying something like that. Could it be that once somebody becomes a state client, they will want to remain a state client? How have OTHER people affected by the quake been able to cope and adapt? Why are we not reporting about them?

Oh well. Why bother to form a consistent narrative of reality. I will just go on despising Abe and Tepco and trust that other commenters will have my back.

On the bright side guys...in 65% of the world, many of these guys would be on the street. No need to compare Abe to North Korea even if you (or I) don't like him. That's a pretty poor comparison.

Agree with Klaus and Viking. Abe has a lot of resources at his disposal. There shouldn't be this many people in temporary housing. He should be taking care of his own, but he simply doesn't care about anything except his nationalistic march. And its not about love for Japan either. If he truly loved the country he wouldn't leave its people in Fukushima and Kumamoto to languish like that. He doesn'(t care. Pure and simple.

Rather than how many homes were "damaged", perhaps it would be more illustrative to say that the earthquakes left 40,000 homes "zenhankai" by Japanese standards. This term is basically untranslatable into simple English, but could possibly be glossed as "compromised or completely written off". Most zenkai homes will still be standing pretty much upright, so any translation that uses "collapsed" or "destroyed" is misleading. Many zenkai homes can still be saved if there is the will to pull them square and reinforce them, and conversely most people will still knock down a house that is hankai, not least because the government will pay for demolition and clearup.

Of these 40,000 houses, 20,000 have been demolished. As stated above, the government will be paying for demolition and debris removal, which is great for the people there, but slows things down when official channels are involved. I can also guarantee that every komuten and general contractor anywhere near Kumamoto will be rushed off their feet and have a huge backlog of work. You can't just go to a builder after a big earthquake and say "We need a new house and want to be in in six months after the town clears up our old one". You could be looking at a two year or longer wait. So in this situation, it's only natural for people to still be in temporary accommodation.

@kohakuebisu

thanks for the explanation. Hopefully the wait won't be too long

Wonder if they'll be quite as quick to throw them to the wolves as with the people in Tohoku. Don't put Imamura on the case!

kohakuebisu, well said. People also need to understand the time it takes to rebuild infrastructure. It does take an average of 6 months to build a home and even more for those living in condos or apartments. But construction can't start until the government appointed geologists have deemed the land safe. And can't start building until the infrastructure has been completed. Private property and public property lines need to be redrawn. There are several more aspects to the delays for moving back into a home. One thing that is always missing from the news is what progress has been made. AND to Sensei258; you either don't live in Japan or are a government official. Either way, do some research before putting down so many that have had their lives flipped upside down in less than 5 minute's time. Believe me, I cannot believe the people Kumamoto & Fukushima want to live in the conditions they are living.

The evacuees from the Fukushima earthquake have been displaced for 7 years. Only 1 year for the evacuees in Kumamoto? Progress!

Omotenashi!

Evacuees blah blah blah.... how about some updates on the Beautiful and Glorious Olympic Village?

One wonders, if fellow citizens get the blunt end of the stick, how about foreigners? Shudder at the thought!!

I haven't read any of the above postings, because I wanted to say, first, that I was there. It was ugly. And for so many people to still be stranded amazes me. Confounds me. Disturbs me. Hurts more than the broken foot I got from it. I hope their 'temporary housing' isn't the tents I helped erect. But, it's spring, and the weather is getting better. I know a lot of seniors who would love to enjoy camping again. Bring them their grandchildren, and it would make for one heck of a family thing. Don't you think?