Three Years After a Mega-disaster: Recovery Policies, Programs and Implementation After the Great East Japan Earthquake - Post-Tsunami Hazard: Reconstruction and Restoration - page 37

Nevertheless, the fundamental issue of balancing future tsunami risk and
livelihood restoration persists. Levee reconstruction to defend land, assets and lives
against a L1 tsunami extends for about 400 km along the Tohoku coast in 600 loca-
tions, and is estimated to cost one trillion yen (US$ 10 Billion) (NHK Special 2014 ).
There have been delays in levee reconstruction in some communities, caused mainly
by the lack of consensus and confl icting tensions between reducing future tsunami
risk and sustaining livelihoods. On one hand, at the community level, some mem-
bers are willing to accept the highest possible levees to avoid future tsunami risk.
On the other hand, some members are demanding the lowest possible levee heights
in order to maintain the seaside aesthetic and support related elements of community
life, such as recreation, fi shing, aquaculture, and maritime shipping.
Similar discussions are ongoing between governments and communities around
levee heights, land use, and the type of programs to use. For example, in the north-
ernmost city of Kesennumana in Miyagi Prefecture some communities prefer to
secure livelihoods and environmental assets by lowering the prefecture's defi ned
levee heights. However, the prefectural government is not proactively changing the
levee heights that they previously adopted. Kesennuma City's younger generation
have established several civic groups that work to more actively engage residents
and others in discussions related to levee construction, land use, and community
redevelopment. They are concerned about protecting the local culture, scenery, and
life styles which they fear might disappear if all the government-led projects and
programs are accepted and implemented. Having a new wave of activism is particu-
larly notable for this city, as Kesennuma's younger population had been moving
away to larger cities for the last several decades.
In other communities such as Natori City, located in southern Miyagi Prefecture,
the city and community members have not yet established a consensus on whether
to select the collective relocation or land readjustment/raising programs. While the
City is in favor of rebuilding on site by raising the height of coastal lands, the majority
of community members are hoping to relocate inland away from the ocean. Since the
City wants one standard approach, either to relocate or rebuild on site, this dispute has
not yet been solved.

3.3 Displacement and Resettlement

3.3.1 Housing Issues in the Recovery Phases

Following the GEJE

Housing recovery after the GEJE is occurring in parallel with the development and
implementation of the recovery programs described in previous sections and it is
inextricably linked to the same decision making processes. The unprecedented
and large scale nature of the recovery planning and tsunami risk reduction
activities after the GEJE have required considerable time to develop new concepts,