Following a decline in the populations of areas hit hard by the March 11 disaster, special reconstruction zones have launched job-creation initiatives to curb a potential mass exodus of residents, as seen in previous disasters.
In the wake of the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995, Kobe City's population of about 1.52 million fell by about 100,000 in nine months. It took nine years and 10 months for the city's population to return to its prequake level.
In the city's Nagata Ward, the synthetic shoe industry suffered greatly after its factories were burned in fires caused by the earthquake. The population, a large percentage of which are elderly, is still about 29,000 lower than it was before the quake. (Yomiuri)
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