THE IMPACT OF THE GREAT EAST JAPAN EARTHQUAKE ON INCOME IN COASTAL AREAS OUTSIDE THE AFFECTED AREAS

Abstract

The Tsunami that struck the Tohoku region after the Great East Japan Earthquake was devastating and updated the perception of Tsunami risk among people living in coastal areas. In Japan, it is anticipated that a huge earthquake with the Nankai Trough as its epicenter will occur in the near future, and it has been pointed out that high-income people in the Pacific coastal areas are migrating to low-risk areas in preparation for the tsunami. This can be interpreted as an undesirable situation where low-income people are left behind in high-risk areas, and it is important to clarify the actual situation. However, it is difficult to verify the existence of such a phenomenon in Japan because data on migration among micro districts and data on income and earnings at the micro-district level have not been made public. Therefore, in this study, we estimated the income-related indices in Shizuoka and Kochi prefectures before and after the Great East Japan Earthquake on a grid basis, and attempted to clarify the reality of this problem by regressing the rate of change on topographical factors related to Tsunami risk.