Construction of temporary shops finally begins in Ofunato and Rikuzen Takata

According to the Organisation for Small and Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation Japan (SME Supoort, Japan), work on temporary shops and factory maintenance for businesses that recieved damage in the earthquake started in Ofunato and Rikuzen Takata this week. Since the information session in April, many businesses have shown interest in the free assistance and are looking forward to construction. It is expected that construction in each area will be formalized soon, but even 5 and a half months since the earthquake many businesses have not been able to setup a business base, and many are demanding the speed up of maintenance.

The free loan system is a part of the support measures for the east Japan earthquake from SME Support, Japan. Factories on a construction area of 650m2, and two-story shops and offices on a construction area of
350m2 can be built on municipal holdings, or on land that the municipality can offer.

The shops, offices and factories can be used for up to a year, but after that, their management will be entrusted to the municipality. In Ofunato,  since April, the Ofunato Commerce and Industry has been putting together requests and coordinating sites and shops. From there, the city of Ofunato put forward an application to SME Support, Japan.

Misaki-cho was the first place for construction to begin, starting on the 23rd. Set up in Kobosoura, along the prefectural road, is a building with an overall floor space of 430m2. The building is a two-story building with a lightweight steel frame. It contains 12 blocks and is being used for shops and offices. Small shops that operated in the town before the disaster will move into the building.

At first, construction was scheduled to begin at the beginning of this month. But the city of Ofunato and those related to the construction work explain that they "needed time to adjust plans of the internal structure". They said it would take about two months, and that it was expected to be completed around late October. In Ofunato the application for 17 areas, including Misaki, and 158 businesses has been completed.
Construction in Ryori and Ofunato-cho is expected to begin soon, but SME Support has put a condition on the construction asking that debris and building foundations be removed from 7 areas, and that the waterworks in one area be repaired before construction begins.

The number of applications has reached more than 240 businesses, and the city of Ofunato continues site selection. Ofunato's Commerce and Tourism Department says they "particularly hope to speed up the works in Akasaki and Ryori, where the shops are few".

For businesses reopening, the burden of a 'double loan', new capital investment on top of existing loans, is seen as a problem. According to SME Support, whilst the free support is economically a great help to businesses, in areas other than Misaki, completion seems far away and people are showing their impatience.

The delay for starting construction has become topic of conversation even amongst the city's Disaster Recovery Planning Committee, where one member says that "everybody is impatient. We want them to speed things up, as soon as possible". Even those businesses who were interested in the free support have given up, and there are also cases of some starting work on their facilities themselves.

In Rikuzen Takata, at the beginning of May, an information session about the temporary facilities for businesses was held. As of the 24th of this month, applications from  businesses has risen to 77 places and 190 businesses, and of those, a portion have gone on to construction confirmation application.

In Rikuzen Takata, where they received catastrophic damage from the tsunami, most of the flat ground that would be used for construction was submerged under water. Construction of temporary housing is given priority on official land, so businesses are looking and applying for possible construction sites.

According to SME Support, facility construction of 3 places started on the 22nd. Yonesaki-cho in Matusmine, Takekoma-cho in Tokaichiba and Takuta-cho in Nishiwano.

Seven shops will move into the temporary facility being built in Yonesaki-cho.They will include a food manufacturing business (catering), cram school, barber's shop, sports store, Chinese restaurant, coin laundry and convenience store.
The facility will consist of 2 lightweight steel-framed single story buildings, and 1 two story building, making a total of three, and a total floor space of 1041m2.
Completion is expected in the middle of October.

Four shops (100yen Shop, a farmer's produce shop, an insurance agency and ramen restaurant) will move into the establishment at Takekoma-cho.
The building will be a 2 story lightweight steel-framed building with a total floor space of 428m2, scheduled to finish in the middle of October.

The facility in Takata-cho will house two shops - a cram school and a painting school.
It is also a  2 story lighweight steel-framed building, with a floor space of 213m2.
It is scheduled to be finished somewhere between the end of September and the beginning of October.

Counselor Yoshiyuki Odashima from the Compliance and Coordination Office in the same building says "it has taken some time to start construction, but things are slowly picking up. Construction work will increase between September and October. I hope that the facilities can be finished as soon as possible."


（Tokai Shinpo　7/21/2011）

Weyers rushes from Holland to do volunteer work in Yamada

Foreign Volunteers were staying at Morioka's establishment of volunteers ' base, Kawai Camp (Kawai, Miyako), and have now gone in to support the devastated town of Yamada. Dutch company employee, Philip Weyers (51), engaged in work such  as clearing debris from the 1st to the 4th. A memory of visiting Dutch Island in Yamada bay is what provoked him to volunteer to support.

Dutch Island (Oshima) is an uninhabited island in Yamada Bay. In 1643, the Dutch ship, Breskens, drifted ashore, and the city of Yamada started a relationship of exchange with the Dutch city of Zeist. Philip had been working at the embassy in Tokyo from 2001 to 2007. Recently, he has visited Yamada twice for motorcycling trips.

"I couldn't just sit there after hearing the news". In January, he and his wife Yumi, and sons, Ryuuta (6) and Kai (3), were to go to his wife's hometown in Osaka for the summer break, but then the earthquake hit.

He decided to come to give his support alone. He left his wife and children who had come with him by plane, and came into Iwate by rail. He donated the money raised by his son's school to a group that supports orphaned children. He had his wife search the internet for Camp Kawai, and he applied.

Afraid of the nuclear power incident, some foreigners are holding back from visiting Japan. But Philip had travelled all around the Tohoku region before, so he didn't worry, saying, "It's alright. It's not as if the whole of Japan has been devastated".

However, he was shocked by the sight he saw in Yamada.

"It was worse than what I saw on TV and the footage I found on the internet. I felt the awesome power of the water and nature". In Holland, there are no earthquakes or volcano eruptions. He says that a big natural disaster would be flooding. During his stay, there were aftershocks, and he said, "I was worried how big the next one would be".

When he visited Yamada for travel, he stopped by the town office. He says, "they were very kind to me. They probably didn't think i worked at the embassy, dressed like a traveller. But now, they are going through a lot. I don't want to  trouble them". In Zeist, many are appealing strongly for the support of Yamada.

At the camp, there are volunteers from different hometowns, with different jobs and of different age. Philip naturally socializes with them. "Everyone here is a good team". They are treated with Dutch food.

Philip majored in Economic Geography at Amsterdam University. He was interested in the economic power, Japan. He worked at ANA for 7 years from 1989, then returned to Holland, and came back to Japan again to work at the embassy.

"The Japanese spirit is amazingly strong. It might take 5, 10 years to fully recover, but I want them to try hard. They need more support".

He also says, "Japan is a country that always puts safety first. At work,  school, and even how to use a knife at camp - safety comes first. There was an incident with China's high-speed rail, but Japan's Shinkansen has no accidents. Even so, why didn't they place the Fukushima nuclear reactors on higher ground where the tsunami would not reach? It doesn't match the image I have of Japanese people".

（Morioka Times　8/8/2011）