70% of Shops Hit by Massive Noto Quake See No Prospects of Rebuilding

Giant Kiriko Lantern Festival Kicks Off in Quake-Stricken Noto; Participants Carry Floats, Chant to Raise Enthusiasm for Reconstruction

Giant kiriko lantern floats paraded on Friday through the Ushitsu district in Noto, Ishikawa Prefecture, which was hit hard by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake last year. All 36 of the city’s community associations took part in the traditional two-day Abare Festival, the first in a series of Kiriko Festivals, this year. Last year, four of them were unable to participate due to the disaster.

70% of shops hit by massive Noto quake see no prospects of rebuilding

Seventy percent of shops and restaurants currently operating from temporary facilities in the earthquake-hit Noto Peninsula in central Japan have no prospects of returning to their original locations, a Kyodo News survey showed.