Volume 86 - June 15, 2015

The temperature difference is stark between day and night as rainy days increase and we enter Iwate’s rainy season.

Joint Information Seminar Held by Three Affected Prefectures （Tokyo）

On Saturday, June 6, an information seminar for candidates for fixed-term contracts as prefectural employees in the three disaster-affected prefectures （Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima） was held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly Building and the Tomin Hall.

Thanks to the support of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and national government’s Reconstruction Agency, all three prefectures were able to hold a joint information session for the first time, allowing candidates to learn as much as possible about the state of affairs in the affected regions of all three prefectures. Successful candidates will work on reconstruction projects on fixed-term contacts.

More than 200 people attended the seminar. To start out, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Reconstruction Shinjiro Koizumi talked about the damage caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami as well as the progress of the reconstruction. He said, “It’s been four years since the disaster, but there’s still a lot to do. Reconstruction work is not easy, but we encourage you to help as best you can. I look forward to meeting you all again in the disaster-affected areas.”

Representatives from the three prefectures then described the work that is being done in their prefectures and what they require from candidates. They then set up individual booths to answer questions from candidates.

Open call for fixed-term contract employees
General Work: Application Period May 29 （Friday） ~ June 19 （Friday）; Initial Screening July 12 （Sunday）
Engineering/Construction: Application Period May 29 （Friday） ~ July 3 （Friday）; Screening based on documents

The First “Iwate Reconstruction for Tomorrow” Seminar

On Saturday, May 30, the First Iwate Reconstruction for Tomorrow Seminar was held at Hotel New Carina in Morioka.

The event was sponsored by the local industrial-academic-governmental collaborative association Iwate Tomorrow Design Organization to provide a networking opportunity for people who want to be involved in the reconstruction. Around 150 people interested in the reconstruction from within and outside Iwate and from various different lines of work participated.

Professor Yoshimitsu Shiozaki from Ritsumeikan University spoke about the experiences and lessons learned from the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995 and Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami as well as what we should keep in mind in preparation for future disasters. Kamaishi Mayor Takenori Noda also spoke on the current situation and challenges involved with the reconstruction of his city. In the second half of seminar, Professor Shiozaki, Mayor Noda, and Governor Tasso formed a panel discussion where they exchanged many ideas about the reconstruction and rebuilding homes for the survivors.

After the panel discussion, the panelists took questions from the participants. It was a successful event, as the participants were about to learn from and network with others interested in the reconstruction.

The Second Iwate Reconstruction for Tomorrow Seminar will be held on July 18, 2015 （Saturday）.

The Grand Opening of a New Hotel in Taro District, Miyako City

On Monday, June 1, the Nagisa-tei Taro House hotel had its grand opening in Miyako City. The hotel is a reconstruction of the former Taro Kanko Hotel which was damaged heavily by the tsunami. The old hotel remains standing in central Taro as a monument to the disaster, and the new building is on top of a hill overlooking the famous Sanno-iwa rock formation.

Nagisa-tei Taro House consists of a main building, an observatory building, and a detached building. It has 13 guest rooms, each equipped with an outdoor bathtub. The meals provided give guests a perfect sampling of Sanriku’s delicious seafood.

The hotel also has a showcase area for a video of the tsunami taken from the Taro Kanko Hotel’s sixth floor, which lodgers can watch on request. It is hoped that this will help preserve the memory of the disaster for future generations.

Kesen Junior High School Students Try on Yukata （Rikuzentakata）

On Tuesday, May 26, a class on wearing yukata was held at Kesen Junior High School （69 students, Principal Toshinori Suzuki） in Rikuzentakata.

This event was made possible thanks to a Kyoto-based NPO dedicated to increasing people’s interests in wearing kimono and a kimono school in Rikuzentakata （representative: Yoshiko Kinno）. The yukata that were used in the class were sent from all over Japan in support for the disaster affected areas.

Some students in the school had lost their yukatas to the tsunami. Organizers wanted to give the students a chance to learn about traditional Japanese clothing culture and try on yukatas, so they arranged for the event to be included as part of the students’ home economics curriculum.

On this day, 24 second-year students tried their hands at putting on yukata with the help of Ms. Kinno and 6 other instructors. The students had a great time, even if they were a little clumsy at first.

Features

For salads or stewed dishes:
It’s the season for suki-konbu!

Fudai’s suki-konbu is famed for its thick consistency and rich texture. Suki-konbu is freshly picked konbu seaweed that is blanched, cut into thin strips and spread out in a wooden crate to dry.

• Fudai's Antenna Shop （JPN only）（外部リンク）

Sea urchin harvest makes a comeback after 6 years!
Iwate’s sea urchin season has truly arrived.

2010 was a bad year for sea urchin, so we had to wait out that harvest season. After that, Ofunato’s sea urchin harvest was halted due to the 2011 disaster. This May, Ofunato finally saw its sea urchin harvest revived for the first time in six years.

Many young people are diligently helping the affected area of Sanriku move toward a full reconstruction. The section “People for Sanriku’s Future” introduces these young people and their powerful feelings.

Click the link to read about Yuki Kumagai and her mission to help the residents of Sanriku to live longer, healthier lives.

• Yuki Kumagai of Sanriku Wellness

Casualties and Damage in Iwate （as of May 31, 2015）

• Human casualties/deaths: 4,672; Missing: 1,129
• Buildings destroyed （residences only, total/partial）: 26,163

Thank you for all of your support! （as of May 31, 2015）

Donations for survivors: Around 18.38684 billion yen （91,483 donations）
Donations for reconstruction projects: Around 19.67911 billion yen （7,337 donations）
Iwate Learning Hope Fund donations: Around 7.55394 billion yen （15,622 donations）
※ This fund is to assist in the study and daily life of affected
children by encouraging sport and study activities.

• Donations for survivors: Around 18.38074 billion yen （91,452 donations）

Contact

News from Iwate’s Reconstruction, Volume 86. June 15, 2015.
Published by the General Affairs Division, Bureau of Reconstruction, Iwate Prefecture.
Phone: 019-629-6925
Editing & Printing: SYNAPSE

*News from Iwate's Reconstruction Volume 85 will be published on July 1.