Earthquake-Hit District in Wajima Eyes Mass Relocation; Residents May Move to Urban Area for Increased Convenience

The Yomiuri Shimbun

21:01 JST, February 26, 2025

WAJIMA, Ishikawa — The residents of a district in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, which was hit by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake on Jan. 1, 2024, plan to submit a request for mass relocation to the Wajima city government on Thursday.

The request from Besshodani-machi district residents is likely to be processed under a national government-sponsored program to relocate residents of areas that are not suitable for living due to the risk of disaster. Under the program, people affected by a disaster are encouraged to collectively move to safer areas such as higher ground and inland areas.

After receiving the request, the city will coordinate to make the relocation a reality.

The district is located in the mountains and was temporarily isolated after the earthquake due to a massive landslide. Its water supply has still not been restored.

When residents were asked about the plan, about 80 people, almost the entire population of the district, consented to the mass relocation, for reasons such as reducing disaster risk and the difficulty of maintaining their lives in the future.

With an eye toward factors such as the convenience of hospital access, urban areas are being considered for the new location.

Under the program, municipalities will be responsible for acquiring land, developing it and building roads and water lines, as well as purchasing the properties residents are living on before relocation. The national government will provide three-quarters of the funding.

The Wajima city government has already secured a budget of ¥22 million, to be used in part for research into possible relocation sites. The city plans to move ahead with the program in areas in the district where consensus has been reached among residents.

In addition to Besshodani-machi, mass relocation is also being considered in four other districts in the city, including Inabune-machi and Uchikoshi-machi, where major landslides occurred.