Japan to boost tourism to quake-hit region with subsidies as focus turns to repairing ‘lifelines’

While the tourism industry has welcomed the government’s support, it is widely accepted that the Noto Peninsula, which bore the brunt of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami, will not be ready to welcome travellers for some time to come.

Prefectural authorities confirmed to This Week in Asia that they intended to prioritise the allocation of recovery funds towards basic reconstruction that would aid Noto residents, with the rebuilding of roads and the restoring water, sewage and electricity services being top concerns.

According to local police, 233 people have been confirmed dead and another 20 are still listed as missing. The vast majority were killed when buildings collapsed.

Aftershocks from the initial quake continue to rattle the region, with two minor tremors reported on Wednesday following eight minor quakes the day before.

Experts have confirmed that the January 1 quake was triggered when one of three active faults northeast of the peninsula shifted, and warned that the two other faults have barely moved.

Kenji Satake, a professor at the University of Tokyo’s Earthquake Research Institute, cautioned in an interview with the Yomiuri newspaper that the two other active faults could slip and potentially unleash another magnitude-7 quake that would trigger a tsunami of up to 3 metres.

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Woman in her 90s miraculously survives 5 days buried under Japan earthquake rubble

Nevertheless, work to rebuild the worst-affected communities on the Noto Peninsula needed to commence immediately, said Takashi Nakamoto, a spokesman for the prefectural government of Ishikawa.

“We must focus on the roads, restoring electricity supplies and the water networks,” he said. “These are the lifelines for local residents, and it causes serious