Author(s)

H. Mori, M. Taniguchi

Abstract

The Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, 2011 produced widespread and severe damage, especially in the Tohoku area of northern Japan. The Fukushima nuclear power plant accident has required the long-term evacuation of many residents. For them, a Karino-machi plan has been suggested as a plan by which a town existing before the earthquake is relocated to some other locale. Nevertheless, the opinions of affected residents have not been clarified. This study clarified the expectations and factors related to moving to a Karino-machi, specifically examining all targeted persons of the Karino-machi, who now live in Iwaki, Fukushima prefecture, which is located 300 km north of Tokyo. Results show that the distance from each town to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant affected differences of opinions relating to the Karino-machi. Therefore, each town before the earthquake is expected to carry on the plan of Karino-machi in different ways according to that town’s circumstances. Results show that personal attributes produce different opinions relating to their expectations of moving to a Karino-machi. Especially, attachment to areas where they had lived before the earthquake was a positive factor for moving to a Karino-machi, but attachment to the present living area was found to be a negative factor for moving to a Karino-machi.

Keywords

Great East Japan Earthquake, Karino-machi, move, factor analysis