Japanese Court Backs Demolition of Building Hit by March 2011 Tsunami

January 18, 2019

Morioka, Iwate Pref.--A Japanese court on Thursday dismissed a request from residents to block the demolition of a former local government building in the town of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, where many people were killed in the March 2011 tsunami.

In the lawsuit filed against Otsuchi Mayor Kozo Hirano, the residents claimed that the former town building can be recognized as a cultural asset as it has social and economic value as a reminder of the massive disaster.

Handing down the ruling, Kyo Nakamura, presiding judge at Morioka District Court, recognized no abuse of the mayor's discretionary power over his decision to remove the building remains, noting that the town assembly has approved a budget for the demolition work.

The ruling also pointed out that the will of residents was well reflected in the mayor's decision, including through meetings between the town government and them on the matter.

"Now we have a court ruling that there was no illegality," Hirano told reporters, referring to his decision to demolish the building remains. "We'll proceed with the demolition work steadily."

The mayor indicated that the town government will start the demolition work on Friday, as scheduled.

Hirano was elected as mayor of the northeastern Japan town in August 2015 pledging to demolish the former town building. The town assembly passed a budget for the demolition work in March 2018.

At a press conference, the plaintiffs said the court ruling was regrettable as it did not give consideration to the feelings of disaster victims.

"The court ruling is not everything," said Eigo Takahashi, who leads a group calling for examining the building remains' value. "Both authorities and residents must not stop thinking about what we should do not to lose lives in natural disasters." Jiji Press