The Great East Japan Earthquake: Its Damages, Impacts on the Labor-economy and Restoration Measures of the Government

Abstract

On March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake of magnitude 9.0 occurred, with the hypocenter offshore of the Sanriku coast or Tohoku region of Japan. The ensuing huge tsunami hit the east coast of Japan, causing unprecedented damage  and  nearly  16,000  deaths  and  less  than 3,000 missing people. The tsunami also hit the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power  plant  of  Tokyo  Electric  Power  Company  (TEPCO),  causing  a complete  loss  of  power  and  hydrogen  explosions.  The  government instructed  local  people  living  within  a  20-kilometer  radius  of  the  power plant  to  evacuate  from  their  homes to  avoid  radiation  exposure. Inevitably,  such  an  evacuation  lasts  a  long  time,  and  almost  290,000 people remain unable to return to their homes as of the end of August 2013. Some of these people are forced to live apart from their families in order to get a job or for their children’s education. This and other related questions will be addressed in this paper.

Download PDF