Demolition of Quake-Damaged Buildings with Public Fund to be Completed by the End of This Fiscal Year in Asaichi-Dori Dtreet in Japan’s Noto Peninsula

The Yomiuri Shimbun

2:00 JST, November 17, 2024

WAJIMA, Ishikawa — The publicly funded demolition of 249 buildings in and around the Wajima Morning Market in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, that were seriously damaged by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake and an ensuing large-scale fire is expected to be completed by the end of this fiscal year, according to the city government.

The government has confirmed that the owners of all the buildings have agreed to the plan.

Demolition operations in the Asaichi-dori area began in early June, and work had been completed for 241 of the buildings, accounting for about 96%, as of Friday. The foundations of 82 of these buildings were removed, and the plots of land they stood on became vacant lots.

The chief of the city government’s environmental policy section said: “I think it was painful for the owners of these buildings to apply to have them demolished. But [finishing it] is a step toward rebuilding, so the future is in sight now, which is good.”

One of the reasons why applications for the publicly funded demolition moved forward slowly is that, if a single building had multiple owners, the city government had to obtain consent from all of them.

Thus, the central government in May notified local governments of a decision that the demolition would be allowed if one owner applied for it and the structure had lost its function as a building for reasons such as fire damage.