About 40 households who survived the March 2011 earthquakes and tsunami in the coastal areas of Iwate Prefecture are still stuck in makeshift housing, waiting to move into new homes.
As more temporary housing units become vacant in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, some of the elderly residents are feeling lonely, missing the former neighbors they have lived with for the past few years.
“Wow, am I the only one here today?” 86-year-old Yotsuko Nakayama, asked with a bitter laugh.