Japan Press Weekly

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2012 January 6 - 10 [GREAT EAST JAPAN DISASTER]

3.11 survivors suffer from mental distress

Ten months after the 3.11 disaster, many survivors suffer from serious mental health problems, as they face the harsh reality of unemployment, lost homes, and anxiety about their future.

A 68-year-old woman living in a temporary shelter in Onagawa Town, Miyagi Prefecture, says she cannot sleep without taking tranquilizers because she feels isolated, worries about her future, and is afraid of waking up in the middle of night.

The woman had been living in a house with her eldest son, but the disaster washed away the house and the fishery company facility where her son was working. Her son is currently looking for a job, staying in a relative’s house in Sendai City in the prefecture. Although the woman hopes that her son will find a job, she also worries that she will be left alone if the son obtains a job in Sendai.

According to a survey conducted by Tohoku University public health professor Tsuji Ichiro, 50.2% of the respondents reported symptoms of sleep disorders such as waking up in the middle of the night. This percentage is quite high compared to the national norm of less than 30%.

The survey also shows that more than 10% suffer from symptoms of severe psychological distress, feeling hopeless or unworthy and feeling lethargic and getting tired easily.

Tsuji carried out the survey during September and October last year, questioning 440 people aged over 18 living in temporary housing in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture.

Sakata Kiyomi, public health professor at Iwate Medical University conducted another questionnaire for 10,000 people aged over 18 in three disaster-affected municipalities in Iwate Prefecture from September to December. It shows that about 40% of the respondents are experiencing sleep disorders and 10% severe psychological distress.

Sakata explains, “Released from the trauma of just surviving the disaster, survivors then started to think objectively of their future and began to feel more insecure.”

This month, the Fukushima Prefectural Government plans to begin a research project involving 210,000 residents in its 13 municipalities which (or part of which) are designated as no-entry zones adjacent to the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Niwa Shin’ichi, psychiatric medicine professor at Fukushima Medical University said, “The nuclear accident forced local residents to evacuate to areas far away from their homes, and living in such places has placed a heavy mental and physical burden on these evacuees for a protracted period of time.”