JAPAN ELECTION
As the rest of Japan prepares to vote, victims of the 2011 quake and tsunami are still waiting for permanent homes.
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December 14, 2012 -- Updated 0619 GMT (1419 HKT)
Tsunami victims on Japan's election
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Elderly residents in Ishinomaki are struggling to adapt to post-tsunami surroundings
- Some live in temporary homes, 18 months after the earthquake and tsunami
- One resident fears that another change in government will delay reconstruction work
- Another says: "The government hasn't done a thing for us. They've only cleared the debris"
It's not of the
tsunami-inflicted destruction -- the flattened homes, mangled cars or
piles of debris -- in Ishinomaki, one of the worst-hit areas in the
Tohoku region, in the country's north.
Instead, it is an image of retirees huddled on small benches outside their temporary homes.
The pre-assembled homes
have ample heating and are equipped with small kitchens -- and yes, many
people in other parts of the world live with much less.
But in talking with some
of the elderly residents in March, one year after the devastating
earthquake and tsunami, it was clear that they were struggling to adapt
to their new surroundings.
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Now as a second winter
arrives after March 2011 quake, I was curious as to how these people
were coping and I wondered what their thoughts were on Japan's upcoming
general election.
Did they have a strong
preference on who should become Japan's seventh prime minster in just
over six years? Or, with so much political change and their own
upheaval, were they even paying any attention?
I was also compelled by
the fact that, according to government figures, more than 320,000 people
remain in temporary housing across the affected region.
And it could be the case for quite some time.
According to a recent report in The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper,
of the nearly 24,000 housing units set to be constructed in three
prefectures, only roughly 13,700 will be completed by March of 2015.
That's four years after the tsunami hit.
And with this all in
mind, it's particularly tough for many people in the Tohoku region to
grasp the concept of the revolving door of leaders, as they watch the
reconstruction drag on.
Junko Hino, a resident
at one housing center, told us, "Nothing has changed here, but the prime
minister has changed many times. I don't understand the meaning of any
of it."
Sixty-seven-year-old
Katsuji Ogata lost his wife in the tsunami. He used to run a small
restaurant in Ishinomaki. Now it's a simple food truck.
He is even more outspoken, saying "the government hasn't done a thing for us. They've only cleared the debris."
Kenichi Kurosawa erected a sign it what was once a neighborhood that reads Ganbaru, or "try your hardest," in the hope of inspiring those who are struggling in the aftermath of the tsunami.
He says, "I know it was a
huge disaster and things would take time. But I am frustrated. The
reaction has been too slow for too long. We are working hard and trying
to move forward, but there are many people who are really struggling and
need some help."
The people in the housing complexes are making the best of their situation though.
One we visited outside Ishinomaki had setup a small Sunday morning market the day we visited.
They were also operating a basic convenience store.
And we also met Satoshi Sakurai at the complex's barber shop.
"Another prime minster and another new cabinet, the reconstruction will be delayed again," he sighs.
But the barber shop's owner, Hiroshi Yokota, tried to keep things in perspective.
"I sometimes wish I'd wake, and it was all a dream," he says.
"But it happened to us, so we make the best of situation, and try to get back to the life we once had."
COPY http://edition.cnn.com
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