A groundbreaking ceremony for a public housing project was held on Wednesday in the city of Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, to accommodate local residents displaced by the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
The project will consist of 42 houses, scheduled to be built by the end of March 2015, and an apartment building designed to accommodate 50 families, scheduled for completion in July 2015.
The project is the first such initiative in the area, which was one of the worst-hit in the disaster. More than 900 Natori residents lost their lives or remain missing.