Following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami incident, a ceremony was held on April 1, 2013 in Miyagi Prefecture, which marked the completion of the first public housing units after the disaster.
The ceremony which was held in the town of Yamamoto was attended by Mayor Toshio Saito. Saito handed over the keys to nine households who survived and were also screened to ensure that they were eligible for public housing.
74-year-old Kiyoshi Shimada received one of the keys to a house and said that he was looking forward to leaving his one room temporary accommodation and moving into his new two bedroom house by the month of May. Shimada added that he is also looking forward to getting along well with his neighbors, as he will be staying alone.
Another resident, 50-year-old Fumiko Abe also received his keys and will be moving into the new housing unit with his mother and sister. They have checked out of their three bedroom temporary house as well. On April 1, 2013, 18 houses have been completed in Yamamoto, 50 in the city of Ishinomaki and 12 units in Sendai. The government of Miyagi Prefecture plans to complete about 16,000 houses for the victims of the tsunami by March 2016.
