JAPAN: Unemployment offices in northern Japan deals with a flood of job seekers after tsunami destroys thousands of businesses

Record ID: 465083

  • Title: JAPAN: Unemployment offices in northern Japan deals with a flood of job seekers after tsunami destroys thousands of businesses
  • Date: 7th April 2011
  • Summary: MIYAKO CITY, IWATE PREFECTURE, JAPAN (APRIL 5, 2011) (REUTERS) FISHING BOAT GROUNDED ON PARKING LOT DAMAGED STORE RUBBLES INSIDE DAMAGED STORE EXTERIOR OF UNEMPLOYMENT OFFICE VISITORS INSIDE UNEMPLOYMENT OFFICE VISITOR TALKING TO OFFICIAL VARIOUS OF WOMAN LOOKING AT JOB INFORMATION TERMINAL VARIOUS OF WOMAN LOOKING AT JOB POSTINGS JOB POSTINGS ON WALL (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) REIKO KON, 56-YEAR-OLD JOB SEEKER, SAYING: "I'll be paid unemployment allowances because I was temporarily laid-off while my company rebuilds its business, but I have no idea when it would finish rebuilding." VARIOUS OF UNEMPLOYMENT OFFICE VISITOR TALKING TO OFFICIAL (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) MUTSU FUKUSHI, 57-YEAR-OLD JOB SEEKER, SAYING: "I think my company cannot help dismissing some employees until it rebuilds its business because it cannot afford any more the same amount of labour cost it used to pay. So, I and my colleague were laid-off, and we admitted the decision as inevitable." YAMADA TOWN, IWATE PREFECTURE, JAPAN (APRIL 5, 2011) (REUTERS) PEOPLE CLEANING UP MASS AT TSUNAMI-HIT FACTORY FORKLIFT CARRYING MANUFACTURING MACHINE VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WORKING AT DAMAGED FACTORY (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) HIDENORI KAWABATA, CEO OF SEAFOOD PROCESSING COMPANY "KAWASHU," SAYING: "The government supports those laid-off to maintain their livelihood with unemployment allowance, so we rely on the public support and focus on rebuilding our businesses to hire more people at the end." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE RESTORING DAMAGED MACHINE (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) HIDENORI KAWABATA, CEO OF SEAFOOD PROCESSING COMPANY "KAWASHU," SAYING: "But, we're not only relying on the government's aids; we have the ability and confidence to rebuild it by ourselves." RESTORED MACHINE RESTORED MACHINE PLACED IN FRONT OF DAMAGED FACTORY
  • Embargoed: 22nd April 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan, Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes,Social Services / Welfare
  • Reuters ID: LVA9YAA7PAFC5BOFJB58LFMOCRGD
  • Story Text: Crowds were starting to form in unemployment offices this week as survivors of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami gradually woke up to a jobless future in the coastal cities and towns of northern Japan.
    In Miyako, one of many tsunami-devastated towns of Iwate Prefecture, officials on Tuesday (April 5) said the numbers of job-seekers had doubled in recent days as local job offerings plunged after most of small and mid-sized factories along the coast were washed away by the devastating tsunami.
    A total tally of the number of people made jobless in the three prefectures hardest hit by the tsunami is hard to come by. Even official jobless figures for the nation exclude those of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima as records are still hard to collect.
    Many job-seekers were also just starting to apply for unemployment benefits to help them survive the next few months.
    "I'll be paid unemployment allowances because I was temporarily laid-off while my company rebuilds its business, but I have no idea when it would finish rebuilding," said Reiko Kon, a 56-year-old former employee of a seafood processing company.
    The government has allowed people whose work places were affected by the disaster to receive up to 80 percent of their previous salaries for as long as a year.
    Mutsu Fukushi, a 57 year old former employee of a port administration company, said her sacrifice was inevitable.
    "I think my company cannot help dismissing some employees until it rebuilds its business because it cannot afford any more the same amount of labour cost it used to pay. So, I and my colleague were laid-off, and we admitted the decision as inevitable," Fukushi told Reuters.
    The 9.0 magnitude earthquake which triggered a tsunami nearly 38 meters high in places completely destroyed, washed away or burned down in total of 46,000 buildings along the Pacific cost of northern Japan, according to local media.
    Those with buildings still standing were trying to rebuild their work places.
    In Yamada Town, about 20-kilometre south of Miyako City, employees of a seafood processing company were busy restoring toppled machines and cleaning mud.
    Hidenori Kawabata, CEO of seafood processing company "Kawashu" said he couldn't help laying-off some of his 250 employees from his 14 factories to get through the crisis.
    "The government supports those laid-off to maintain their livelihood with unemployment allowance, so we rely on the public support and focus on rebuilding our businesses to hire more people in the end," Kawabata said.
    Ultimately Kawabata said they had to work hard to overcome this crisis.
    "But, we're not only relying on the government's aids; we have the ability and confidence to rebuild it by ourselves," Kawabata told Reuters.
    The government has said it estimated damage from what it has called it's worst crisis since World War Two at 16 trillion to 25 trillion yen ($190 billion-$297 billion U.S. dollar). The top estimate would make it the world's costliest natural disaster.
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