In tsunami aftermath,‘road to future’ unsettles a village

But so far the road has led nowhere. The road and a planned settlement,on a flat swath of high ground set inland from the destroyed village,have split this community’s leaders into opposing camps,deepening the uncertainty for its 370 mostly ageing residents. The Road to the Future lies covered in gravel,with little prospect of being paved anytime soon.

The difficulties for Babanakayama and its neighbours help explain why,more than 10 months after the earthquake and tsunami,few villages and towns along the devastated coast here have succeeded in doing what seemed obvious early on: finding land on high ground where their communities could be transplanted en masse.

The scarcity of flat land,wrangling over the price of privately owned mountains,the reluctance to consolidate into centralised communities and the different needs of a graying population are complicating the plans. Some people,defying the authorities,are even starting to rebuild in areas inundated by the tsunami.

In Ofunato,for example,city officials are discouraging residents from rebuilding in inundated areas,but they have not issued a direct ban – possibly for fear of legal challenges. With a move to high ground years away,if ever,new houses began popping up in inundated areas a few months ago.

Kikue Shida,80,explained that she did not want to live with relatives or in a prefabricated temporary home. So she had asked a younger brother to rebuild a home for her in the tsunami area. Much of her neighbourhood remains destroyed. But Shida said she was glad she had not waited to be relocated. “I’m already 80,” she said,“and I may not have that many years ahead. That’s why I decided to move back here.”

Under Tokyo’s reconstruction guidelines,the central government will pay to acquire land on high ground if at least five households wish to move there together. The difficulties of even securing an appropriate location were underscored by the experience of Babanakayama. The village has been a role model for quick response to the tsunami because of its community ties and the leadership of one of its two chiefs,Kurayoshi Abe,61,who led a cleanup without waiting for the government.

After that,a group of village leaders began holding meetings at evacuation shelters and planning for the future. Deciding that it was best to move the destroyed coastal houses together to a hilly area behind the village,they asked about 50 landowners in the area for permission to build the Road to the Future.

All of the landowners agreed,except a critical one,Ichiro Miura,60,the other village chief. Miura said he would not be able to afford to build a new house,even if land was secured. For those unable to build,the government has indicated it will build public housing—a bigger priority than high ground for some. “I am 60 years old now,” Miura said,“Even if we’re allowed to move to high ground,how will I build a house there? What bank is going to lend me money at the age of 60?”

Despite opposition by Miura and others,the group behind the Road to the Future pressed ahead and the road bed was laid down in a matter of days. But,the proposed site along the Road to the Future is not being considered for a future settlement partly because of a lack of village consensus,said Akira Oikawa,the head of reconstruction,even though there is enough land there “to accommodate all the houses.”

More than anything else,some villagers say,the split that has emerged in Babanakayama makes it increasingly difficult,if not impossible,to move together to high ground. Perhaps homeowners will be forced to move up separately or rebuild along the coast.

“We should all be working together,” Yoshihiro Miura said in an exasperated tone as he wove rope by the port. “But even in this little village,there’s this kind of wrangling. It’s just human nature.”