While rebuilding the Tohoku coast progresses at a snail's pace, experts say hints for re-creating the region into a leading area that relies on reusable energy can already be found in many communities across the globe.
"Fukushima has the potential to lead the world" in the effort to building a "smart-city" region that depends less on fossil fuels, Richard Jones, deputy executive director of the International Energy Agency, said during a seminar in the city of Fukushima earlier this month.
During his keynote speech at the International Energy Seminar, titled "Smart Community Proposals for Reconstructing the Disaster-Affected Areas," the former U.S. diplomat said models of leading-edge communities are already thriving elsewhere, including in England and Germany.