May 7, 2011
Economic tasks in post-disaster reconstruction - I
The following is excerpts of an Akahata interview with Kobe College Professor Ishikawa Yasuhiro who is calling for efforts to reconstruct from the March 11 great disaster centered on victims’ input.
I will talk about three points which I think are crucial in revitalization of the disaster-hit region. First of all, we need to severely criticize business circles for trying to have their demands realized under the pretext of disaster reconstruction.
In their published proposals, the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) and the Japan Association for Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai) call for the disaster-hit Tohoku region to be reconstructed as an “economic zone” to foster international competitiveness. They propose a unification of tax and finance systems, continuation of the government’s “new growth strategy” supporting major corporations, and promotion of deregulation and other preferential treatment for businesses in the area. They have no concerns over the hardship disaster victims are facing.
The business leaders demand that the government divert tax revenues from budgets to make public high schools tuition-free, provide children’s benefits, and support farmers’ incomes in order to secure reconstruction funds. Without reviewing the measure to promote nuclear power plants, they still call for Japan’s entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free-trade pact.
Their reconstruction plans are for the sake of increased profits. We should establish a residents-oriented plan in order to reconstruct victims’ livelihoods and protect their basic human rights.
Second of all, it is necessary for us to examine the process of reconstruction from the lessons learned from the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. Under its “creative reconstruction” scheme, the administration at the time carried out what major companies had been demanding since well before the earthquake. The Kan Cabinet has recently set up an advisory committee to discuss initiatives for reconstruction from the March 11 disaster which included a discussion of an introduction of a similar scheme. We need to keep an eye on such moves.
In Kobe City, where many tall buildings were built near highways after the 1995 earthquake, we can still find many empty lots in areas where residents used to live. This is because the reinstatement of residents’ livelihoods took a backseat in the reconstruction process. Lessons from the past disaster should be paid close attention to right now.
Thirdly, reconstruction should be centered on the following principle: victims’ living conditions must be reconstructed first and they must be the ones to discuss and determine concrete reconstruction plans.
The following is excerpts of an Akahata interview with Kobe College Professor Ishikawa Yasuhiro who is calling for efforts to reconstruct from the March 11 great disaster centered on victims’ input.
I will talk about three points which I think are crucial in revitalization of the disaster-hit region. First of all, we need to severely criticize business circles for trying to have their demands realized under the pretext of disaster reconstruction.
In their published proposals, the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) and the Japan Association for Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai) call for the disaster-hit Tohoku region to be reconstructed as an “economic zone” to foster international competitiveness. They propose a unification of tax and finance systems, continuation of the government’s “new growth strategy” supporting major corporations, and promotion of deregulation and other preferential treatment for businesses in the area. They have no concerns over the hardship disaster victims are facing.
The business leaders demand that the government divert tax revenues from budgets to make public high schools tuition-free, provide children’s benefits, and support farmers’ incomes in order to secure reconstruction funds. Without reviewing the measure to promote nuclear power plants, they still call for Japan’s entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free-trade pact.
Their reconstruction plans are for the sake of increased profits. We should establish a residents-oriented plan in order to reconstruct victims’ livelihoods and protect their basic human rights.
Second of all, it is necessary for us to examine the process of reconstruction from the lessons learned from the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. Under its “creative reconstruction” scheme, the administration at the time carried out what major companies had been demanding since well before the earthquake. The Kan Cabinet has recently set up an advisory committee to discuss initiatives for reconstruction from the March 11 disaster which included a discussion of an introduction of a similar scheme. We need to keep an eye on such moves.
In Kobe City, where many tall buildings were built near highways after the 1995 earthquake, we can still find many empty lots in areas where residents used to live. This is because the reinstatement of residents’ livelihoods took a backseat in the reconstruction process. Lessons from the past disaster should be paid close attention to right now.
Thirdly, reconstruction should be centered on the following principle: victims’ living conditions must be reconstructed first and they must be the ones to discuss and determine concrete reconstruction plans.
