One year since the 3/11 disasters, the devastated areas face many difficult problems. One big problem is how to dispose of the large amounts of debris that the massive earthquake and tsunami left.
The central and local governments need to cooperate to accelerate the disposal of the debris. Much of the debris remains in temporary storage and is hampering the efficient use of land. It also poses hygiene problems and is a fire risk.
According to the Environment Ministry, the disasters left an estimated 22.5 million tons of debris in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures — about 1.6 times the amount of debris caused by the January 1995 great Kobe earthquake. Of the total, only 1.42 million tons have been disposed of.