TRANSFORMATIONS IN HOUSING CONDITIONS AFTER THE GREAT EAST JAPAN EARTHQUAKE

Comparing 2011 and 2012 surveys on people affected by the disaster in Kamaishi city

Abstract

This paper looks at transformations in housing related circumstances surrounding households affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Many affected households were homeowners living in single-family detached housing and, thus, they sought to rebuild their houses in the period immediately after the tsunami. However, it has increasingly been becoming difficult for the affected people to reconstruct or purchase housing mainly due to heavy financial burdens. This is now prompting many local governments to expand the provision of low-rent public housing.