Japan’s tsunami-battered northeast coast must be rebuilt as a safe and sustainable model for the nation, with residents rehoused on higher ground and declining industries reorganised, according to the government panel charged with charting reconstruction.
The proposals submitted by the Reconstruction Design Council are intended to clear the way for legislation and budget-setting to restore areas devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, which left more than 22,000 dead or missing. However, implementation will be complicated by political turmoil that has left Naoto Kan, prime minister, struggling to stay in office in the face of pressure from a resurgent opposition, and from rivals in his own party.
Makoto Iokibe, head of the reconstruction council, called for politicians to unite around the proposals in its 39-page report, which sets out a framework for rebuilding coastal towns and reviving regional farming, fishing and tourism.