iwate

Nearby, the Bank of Iwate has opened a temporary branch in a trailer for four hours a day.

But since the end of a railway and road-building binge, the rural northern half of Iwate has languished.

The ruins of the temporary settlement sites also appeared in short supply, the land required for Iwate only guarantee of four percent or so.

Along Iwate's rocky coast, four commercial ports once offered hope, but these have been squeezed by bigger ports to the north and south.

The personal transformations are more subtle outside Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima, the three prefectures that have suffered the most.

Ministry of Agriculture also plans to expand the scope of the inspection to the northeast Iwate, Miyagi and Aomori.

A man rides a bicycle through a debris-strewn street in Miyako, Iwate Prefecture in northeastern Japan March 12.

Miyagi, Fukushima and Iwate prefectures further north bore the brunt of the damage from the shock and the ensuing tsunami.

The Kobe area produced 4. 1 per cent of Japan's output, just as hard-hit Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures do today.

A tsunami-tossed boat rests on top of a building amid a sea of debris in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, on March 14.

An emergency worker throws disinfectant powder on the ground around earthquake-damaged buildings in Iwate Prefecture, Japan, on March 14.

A tsunami wave crashes over a street in Miyako City, Iwate Prefecture, in northeastern Japan on March 11.

The earthquake rattled buildings in Kitakami, an inland city in the northern prefecture of Iwate.

Among them, the earthquake and tsunami devastated Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima Prefecture total of 10 bankrupt companies.

Advance units arrived in battered Iwate prefecture on the same day of the quake.

Takada City, Iwate Prefecture land before 5000 were buried there, many bodies have been found.

Japanese Defense Force members load tsunami relief goods at the port in Kamaishi city, Iwate prefecture on March 16.

Ducks swim past a submerged vehicle in Yamada town, Iwate Prefecture in northern Japan.

A man shops in a convenience store where shelves on food aisles are left empty in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, March 15, 2011.

An elderly man and woman push a cart carrying their salvaged belongings in Miyako, in Iwate prefecture, on March 16.

Around 260 fishing ports were completely destroyed, and over 13 thousand fishing boats lost in Iwate, Ishinomaki and Miyagi prefectures.

Japanese troops search for earthquake survivors in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, on March 13.

For the people of Iwate Prefecture, it was long queues at supermarkets again.

A man checks a list of evacuated people at a shelter in Rikuzentakada, in Iwate prefecture, on March 16.

Press reports suggest roughly half of the 23, 000 people of Rikuzentakata, in Iwate, are unaccounted for.

He ran a lacquer art gallery in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture.

So far, the Americans have raised more than $14, 000 to send to Hanamaki, a city of 106, 000 people in Iwate prefecture.

She says in the three worst affected prefectures - Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate - 378 children died, and 191 went missing.

It is reported that the site of which is the biggest drop of the former Miss Takada City, Iwate Prefecture, 84 cm.

In addition, the Iwate Prefecture and Fukushima Prefecture were also identified 502 and 401 deaths.

UP A shallow river, five kilometres from the Pacific coast in Japan's north-eastern Iwate prefecture, lie the remains of a town.

When Yumiko Iwate's pay was cut last year, she and her female colleagues all agreed there was only one thing to do: find a husband.

Here in Japan's northern Iwate prefecture, the tsunami was funneled up narrow coastal valleys, amplifying its destructive power.

Professor, Iwate Prefecture University, President of Asia-Pacific Association of Social Work Education