地震３年後災區人口減少１３万人並持續減少

A few weeks ago the NHK News on-line reported the following:

震災３年 人口１３万人減歯止めかからず

3月11日 18時32分

東日本大震災で大きな被害を受けた岩手・宮城・福島の３県では、この３年間で人口が１３万人余り減少し、中には、震災前より２０％以上人口が減った自治体もあることが分かり、人口減少に歯止めがかかっていない実態が浮き彫りになっています。

ＮＨＫでは岩手・宮城・福島の３県で住民票や戸籍の動きを基にした人口のデータを使って、震災前の平成２３年３月１日から先月２月１日までの人口の増減を調べました。
その結果、震災前からこの３年間で、人口が３県合わせて１３万２２１０人、減少したことが分かりました。
１年ごとに見てみますと、震災で亡くなったり、避難したりした人が多かった震災１年目は８万５４８５人と大きく減少し、その後、震災２年目で２万９２４７人、震災３年目で１万７４７８人と減少の幅が小さくなってきているものの、人口減少に歯止めがかかっていません。
県別では、▽東京電力福島第一原子力発電所の事故の影響が大きい福島県が、この３年間で７万９６０１人減って最も減少の幅が大きく、▽岩手県は３万４６３６人、▽宮城県は１万７９７３人、それぞれ減りました。
自治体別の人口の減少率は、▽宮城県女川町が２８％と最も高く、次いで、▽岩手県大槌町が２２％、▽宮城県山元町が２１％、▽宮城県南三陸町が１８％、▽岩手県陸前高田市が１６％、▽岩手県山田町が１３％、▽福島県の浪江町と富岡町、それに双葉町がそれぞれ１０％となっていて、９つの市と町で１０％以上の人口が減少しています。
被災地では、新しい住まいの拠点となる災害公営住宅が、およそ３万戸の計画のうち、先月末時点で完成したのは３％、防災集団移転の移転先の土地の造成工事も、ことし１月末時点で完了したのは１０％にそれぞれとどまっています。
具体的な町の復興が見えないなか、これまでふるさとでの生活再建を目指していた人も、新しい住まいや仕事を求めて地元を離れる決断をするなど住民の流出が後を絶たず、人口減少に歯止めがかっていない実態が浮き彫りになっています。
一方、仙台市や盛岡市といった都市部や内陸部だけでなく、宮城県岩沼市のように津波の被害を受けた自治体でも防災集団移転の造成などが進んでいる地域では、３年目になって人口が増加に転じたところも出てきていて、被災地での二極化がより一層進んでいます。
東日本大震災で大きな被害を受けた岩手・宮城・福島の３県で人口減少が続いている現状について、人口問題に詳しいみずほ総合研究所の岡田豊主任研究員は、「被災地では若い人の雇用の場がなく、将来のまちづくりが分からない状況のため、今後も人口減少が進む可能性は高い。人口が減るところと増えるところの二極化が進んでいくなかで、東北全体で復興の在り方をどのように描いていくのか、前例にとらわれない形で抜本的に考え直していく必要がある」と指摘しています。

(試譯文)

Due to the Great East Japan Earthquake, in the past three years the population in the three prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima which had suffered serious damage had decreased by 130,000. Inside them certain facts were found: in some self-governing bodies the population had decreased by 20% when compared with figures before the earthquake disaster, and the fact that population decrease had not stopped become a highlight.

In NHK, the changes in population was investigated, from March 1 of Heisei 23 before the earthquake disaster up to February 1 of last month, using the data based on population movements as showed in both the resident cards and the family registers in the three prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima.

As a result, it turned out that in the three years after the earthquake disaster the population had decreased by 132,210 people in these three prefectures in total. 

When it was looked at annually, in the first year of the earthquake disaster, it decreased greatly by 85,485 people, many had passed away due to the earthquake disaster or had taken refuge somewhere. In the 2nd year it was 29,247 people, and in the 3rd year after the earthquake it came down to 17,478 people. While the size was reduced, still the population decrease did not stop.

At the prefecture level, respectively ▽ Fukushima Prefecture, where the impact of the accident caused by the Tokyo Electric Power Fukushima Number One nuclear power plant was great, the number of decrease in these three years was 79,601, the size of reduction was the greatest ▽ Iwate Prefecture decreased by 34,636 people ▽ Miyagi Prefecture by 17,973 people. 

In self-governing bodies the pace of decrease in population were ▽ Miyagi, Onagawa-cho being the highest at 28%, ranking second was ▽ Iwate, Otsuchi-cho at 22% ▽ Miyagi, Yamamoto-cho at 21% ▽ Miyagi, Minamisanrikui-cho 18% ▽Iwate, Rikuzen-Takata-shi 16% ▽Iwate, Yamada-cho 13% ▽ Fukushima Prefecture Tomioka-machi, Namie-machi, and also Futaba-cho respectively had a 10% population decrease; in nine cities and towns it was a 10% percent or more decrease.

In the stricken area where emergency public housings were used as a base for new homes, 3% was completed at the end of last month among the about 30,000 houses planned. Also regarding the construction work for land that was to be used as a transfer destination for people for reason of disaster prevention, the percentage completed at the end of January this year stayed at 10% in various locations.

While a concrete revival for towns was not in sight, people who all along aimed at a life reconstruction in their home town until now also had left the area in quest for new home and employment. The outflow of those residents who had made a decision to leave had not ended. The actual condition of having a decreasing population had been highlighted.

On the other hand, not only in urban areas such as Sendai and Morioka or the inland, but also in the self-governing bodies that had suffered from the damage of the tsunami such as Iwanuma-shi, Miyagi, and in areas that had disaster prevention group relocation etc. in progress, in the 3rd year, a population changed towards an increase had also been noted, and a bi-polarization in the stricken area was progressing further.

About the present condition that a decrease in population was continuing in the three prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima which had suffered serious damage due to  the Great East Japan Earthquake, Yutaka Okada the Senior Research Scientist of the Mizuho Research Institute which was familiar with population problems showed  that “the possibility is high that a decrease in population in the stricken area will continue to progress because of the situation that there is no place to employ the young people, and the future of town planning was not known. In face of the bi-polarization in population increase and decrease in progress, on how are we going to draw the path of reconstruction in the Northeast as a whole, we need to reconsider fundamentally in a way that is not restricted by any precedents”.

How to rebuild the new towns is a huge subject for the Japanese Government.