Two Quake-Stricken Wajima Residents Plan to Build Supermarket for Shopping, Exchanges, Aim to Connect People

By Tsubasa Narishima / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

11:49 JST, October 18, 2025

WAJIMA, Ishikawa — A group of residents of the Toge district of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, which was struck by two major earthquakes, plans to build a small supermarket Toge Marche, which would ensure exchanges between residents and encourage them to stay in the community which is faced with a low birth rate and aging population.

On Aug. 30, Teru Mochiyama, 62, and Sumika Shibata, 60, shared their ideas on products they will provide at Toge Marche at the construction site in the hope that the store will be visited by many people. They plan to open Toge Marche on Nov. 24.

They said that the district was busy in the past as there were candy stores, liquor shops and stationery stores. Now, vacant lots dot the low-traffic area after houses that collapsed in the quakes were demolished with public funds.

In March 2007, the city of Noto and nearby areas were hit by an earthquake measuring upper 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7. They also were struck by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake in January 2024. Because of the tremors, many houses collapsed in the Toge district, which is located about 20 kilometers from the city center.

During the heavy rains in September last year, a welfare facility in the district suffered flooding above floor level. A massive landslide occurred near the Nakaya Tunnel on National Highway Route 249 leading to the city center, killing two people.

Mochiyama, a psychiatrist, resumed practice at a clinic run by her family in the district immediately after last year’s earthquake. Mochiyama said she then noticed that elderly residents’ physical abilities had declined because they had fewer opportunities to move their body at evacuation centers or the tendency to stay at home.

The district is home to about 360 temporary housing units. While a drugstore and other shops are about a 10-minute drive away, there are almost no stores within walking distance. Mochiyama said she decided to build a store believing that it would give people a reason to go outside.

Lessons of Onagawa

In around June last year, Shibata, who organizes community gatherings, offered to help Mochiyama who had started preparations for the opening of the store. They took the lead in establishing a group to build Toge Marche. They studied the way to run supermarkets by, for instance, visiting one in Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture, which was affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

Toge Marche will be built on leased land with an area of about 100 square meters where a supermarket was located until about 10 years ago. The group will sell locally produced meat, fish and vegetables, among other items, at the shop. A cafe will also be built there, where Shibata will also help provide lunch, making use of her experience as a school lunch cook.

Nearly ¥20 million raised through crowdfunding in July and August will cover the construction and equipment costs. The group said it had received more than 500 messages of support, and one of them said that they are going to go shopping just like they did in the past. Operating funds will be covered by ¥20 million in personal funds.

Shibata and Mochiyama hope the shop will be a place where residents can enjoy exchanges and even children can go shopping using their allowance.