The occupancy rate for makeshift housing units set up after the March 2011 mega-quake and tsunami is still at more than 85 percent in the three hardest-hit prefectures as Wednesday marked 1,000 days since the twin disasters struck.
The figure — much higher than in the comparable period after the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995 — is believed to stem from slow progress in clearing highland to construct homes and a poor rate of building public housing.
There are no signs that the situation in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima will improve anytime soon.