14 Years On: Municipalities Ending Storage of Collected Personal Items

Sendai, Miyagi Pref., March 9 (Jiji Press)--Municipalities in northeastern Japan are ending the storage of personal items, such as photographs, school bags and cell phones, that were collected after the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011 and have not been returned to their owners.

Of the 37 coastal municipalities in Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures, which were hit hardest by the disaster, 11 have already stopped keeping such items, while six others have never kept them, a Jiji Press survey found.

Among the 11 municipalities, the Fukushima town of Namie closed its exhibition of collected personal items in March 2021, citing related costs and a decline in the number of items returned to owners.

The remaining 20 municipalities continue keeping collected personal items, but the Fukushima city of Iwaki, among them, has decided to discontinue it. A city official said that the number of people coming to collect their items is decreasing, reflecting the changing attitudes of disaster-affected people.

The Iwate city of Kamaishi is also considering ending its storage of collected personal items at the end of March 2026.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]