About 70 percent of those forced into government-run housing because of the Great East Japan Earthquake will face rent hikes in fiscal 2018 as the government moves to reduce financial support for those with low incomes.
The rent hikes are expected to affect some 16,000 households in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures. The municipal governments responsible for the state-run dwellings are demanding a review of the central government's plan.
Monday marked 6½ years since the magnitude 9.0 quake spawned tsunami that wiped out parts of Tohoku's coastline on the afternoon of March 11, 2011.