After three years, Japan stops to honour the victims of the Great Earthquake
Tokyo (AsiaNews) - With a solemn bow shown on national television, the Emperor of Japan Akihito and his wife Michiko paid tribute to the 18,000 people who lost their life in the devastating earthquake that shook the country on 11 March 2011.
Although the government, the Catholic Church and other religious groups continue to provide assistance in the disaster-affected areas, more than 267,000 people still do not have a home.
Deaths caused by suicide or the physical and mental stress of staying in shelters continue to climb, reaching 3,048 as of Monday.
On 11 March 2011, a massive earthquake shook the eastern coast of Japan, causing a devastating tsunami that forced 470,000 people to abandon their homes.
Almost 16,000 people died in the tragedy (and thousands more went missing), but the number of victims continues to rise as deadly radiation leaks from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
According to the National Police Agency, 15,884 people are confirmed killed; another 2,636 are missing, presumed dead.
"In the past three years," Emperor Akihito said during the memorial service for the victims, "people in the afflicted regions, still living under severe conditions, have overcome numerous difficulties with a strong sense of solidarity and made great efforts towards reconstruction. I am also heartened to see that many people, both at home and abroad, continue to support these efforts in various ways."
For his part, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, "I want to make the upcoming year (one) in which people in the disaster area can really feel reconstruction. [. . .] From now on, I'll emphasize not only the hard side of reconstruction, but also reconstruction of their hearts."
This view is strongly felt across the country, but especially in evacuee camps where suicides have also been rising.
Unfortunately, due to labour shortages and the economic recession, only 3.4 per cent of housing units planned for evacuees has been built.
Chikako Nishihara, 64, is one of them. She and her eldest son have been living in a 25 m2 temporary flat in Sendai Prefecture.
"It's cold in the winter and the walls are so thin that you can hear our neighbours' footsteps; they must hear us too," Nishihara said. "We thought about buying, but because of my illness, I can't take out loans. The only way out of this is to move to public housing."
In fact, despite an early spur of generosity, Japanese banks have become recalcitrant to grant loans to evacuees who lost everything, viewing them as unlikely to repay.
The Japanese Church and Caritas are involved in local rehabilitation work, but thousands of people are still facing hard times.
The bishops have donated all of this year's offerings to the Diocese of Sendai, whose territory includes areas affected by the disaster, calling on the faithful to "spare no effort" in helping survivors. In practice, Catholics have provided basic necessities, run small dispensaries and mobile clinics, provided home care for the elderly and the disabled, as well as organised prep schools for students in need.
Along with the clergy, hundreds of volunteers have offered their time, for periods ranging from three to six months.
"It is clear that the main role in the reconstruction of the areas affected by the disaster must be played by locals," said Mgr Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, Caritas Asia president and bishop of Niigata.
Yet, "The Church should not just maintain its activities to uphold the status quo. We must begin to think that one day they will end. However, the Church operated in the Diocese of Sendai before and during the disaster, and will do so for years to come. This means that the efforts of the Japanese Catholic Church in favour of these people will never end, even if it may change the way in which it operates."
.png)
