78％ Interested in Reconstruction from 2011 Disaster; Concern Higher among Older Respondents

The Yomiuri Shimbun

7:00 JST, March 11, 2026

A total of 78% of respondents said they were interested in reconstruction efforts in the areas hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake, according to a recent survey by The Yomiuri Shimbun.

The nationwide telephone survey was conducted from Feb. 6 to 8, ahead of the 15th anniversary of the disaster.

Asked about their level of interest in the reconstruction, 21% of respondents said they were “very interested” and 57% said “somewhat interested,” for a total of 78%. Those who said they were not interested totaled 22% overall, with 19% saying they were “not very interested” and 3% “not at all interested.”

By age group, respondents age 60 or older were the most likely to express interest, with 82% saying so. This was followed by 79% of those age 40 to 59, and 70% of those age 18 to 39.

Simple comparisons cannot be made due to differences in survey methods, but a poll conducted in January to February 2016 — five years after the disaster — found that 88% of respondents expressed interest in reconstruction when asked a similar question.

A survey held in January to February 2021 — 10 years after the disaster — found 81% of respondents said they were interested. Both the 2016 and 2021 polls were mail-in surveys.

79% feel interest has waned

The latest survey also showed that 79% of respondents felt public interest in the disaster-affected areas is weakening, with 22% saying it was “greatly weakened” and 57% saying it was “somewhat weakened.” Only 20% said they did not feel interest was waning, with 17% saying it had “not weakened much” and 3% saying it was “not at all weakened.”

Eighty-three percent of people who expressed interest in reconstruction said they thought public interest had weakened, compared to 63% of people who said they were not interested.

These findings suggest that the more people are interested in reconstruction, the more they seem to be concerned about memories of the disaster fading away in society as a whole.

About 54% of respondents believed Japanese society had learned lessons from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami and applied them to subsequent disasters in the past 15 years. However, 38% said they did not think so. Among those age 60 or older, 50% said they did not think the lessons were applied, exceeding the 39% who said they had been.

The survey was conducted using the random digit dialing method, calling 717 household landlines and 2,024 mobile phone numbers. Of them, 1,064 people in total — 425 on landlines and 639 on mobile phones — gave valid answers. All respondents were eligible voters aged 18 or older.