Nearly one year since the Great East Japan Earthquake. Debris still piled in vast quantities along the Tohoku coast remains a heavy drag on recovery. To help more people understand the situation through photographs of disaster waste still remaining in Iwate and Miyagi prefectures, the photo exhibition "The State of Debris in Iwate and Miyagi—We Want You to Know" (organized by The Mainichi Newspapers; supported by the Ministry of the Environment) has opened in the open space on the first floor of Palaceside Building.
The venue displays 42 photo panels showing mountains of debris still piled in various areas of Tohoku, temporary housing covered in snow, and moments such as the tsunami strike—for which The Mainichi Newspapers received the Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association Award. A video on wide-area disposal of disaster waste in Iwate and Miyagi is also screened.
On opening day the 20th, Environment Minister Goshi Hosono visited, saying "Processing woody waste is tough," among other remarks, while carefully viewing photos of debris piled around school routes. Surrounded by reporters, Minister Hosono promoted active acceptance of debris by local governments: "Debris processed in Iwate and Miyagi comes to 4.5 tons per person. If the rest is handled by prefectures excluding the three disaster-hit prefectures and Okinawa, it is about 33 kilograms per person."
The exhibition runs through the 22nd (9 a.m.–8 p.m.). Admission is free.