Athletic field used as burial site after Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami returned to former status

An athletic field here that served as a temporary burial site for victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami has been returned to its former status.

Miyagi Prefecture was the only prefecture unable to immediately cremate all its victims after the disaster, and 2,108 bodies were temporarily buried.

The Kamikama Fureai Hiroba athletic field, where 200 people were buried from April 2011, was one of the largest burial grounds. However, with help from inland regions and other prefectures, all the bodies were dug up and cremated by August 2011.

At the end of February 2012, the city government began working to make the fields useable again, as per an agreement with the local neighborhood association. In October that year, the soccer, futsal and baseball fields were reopened with new artificial turf in place, and the shouts of children now once again fill the area.

Monday 4 March 2013

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