Obstacles to Early Recovery and Reconstruction of the Fish Processing Industry Due to the Policy/Projects After the Great East Japan Earthquake and Countermeasures: The Case of Kesennuma City in Miyagi Prefecture

Construction restrictions implemented in some coastal areas of Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture, after the Great East Japan Earthquake were necessary for re-constructing residences and town buildings; however, they were criticized for delaying the recovery and re-construction of the fish processing industry that was affected by the disaster. In areas that were affected by the construction restrictions, a foundation devel-opment for the Cluster Zone (CZ) of fish processing industry facilities was implemented, and companies were only allowed to rebuild their plants more than three years later when the project was completed. In areas that became designated for a land readjustment project (LRP) several years after the disaster, plants that had been repaired were forced to relocate. The present study targeted the fish processing industry of Kesennuma City and conducted a questionnaire on companies that had their offices in the areas that were likely impacted by such policies and projects. We conducted an interview to understand the specific im-pact of such policies and projects on company man-agement. Based on the above survey, we reached the following conclusions. First, many companies that had plants in the scheduled CZ, which was determined af-ter the disaster, relocated their plants. Many compa-nies felt that construction restrictions and the founda-tion development project (FDP) for the CZ delayed the recovery of plants. Second, companies that were im-pacted by the FDP of the CZ, LRP, etc. experienced delays in the recovery of sales channels and hiring, the dispersion of plants, increased costs due to the move, and the abandonment of some manufacturing. Third, as measures to alleviate the impact on compa-nies of the government preparing industrial lands af-ter large-scale disasters, we discuss measures to speed up project implementation, support for the use of pro-duction bases, and other important aspects.