Tsunami-hit towns in Tohoku shaken by alarming rate of population drain

[yuiyoshida]

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

Municipalities particularly hard-hit by the earthquake and tsunami disaster five years ago are reeling from drops in population that were projected to occur over decades due to the graying of society.

An Asahi Shimbun survey found that the average decline was 15.6 percent in 36 of the 42 cities, towns and villages in the prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima, bringing the overall decrease to 156,182.

Experts said that such a sharp decline in just five years was at a level that Japan was expected to experience over a period of 30 years.

The survey was based on a comparison of figures that the three prefectures reported in national censuses undertaken in 2010 and 2015.

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/quake_tsunami/AJ201602110048

[KamaAina]

1. New Orleans population in the 2000 census: 484,674 In 2010: 343,829.

Natural disasters on that scale have a way of doing that to places.