Zoomup / Quake survivors struggle to move on

Yasuo Sato looks around a paddy field on Aug. 6 close to the site, visible in the rear of this photo, where his cousin died in Atsuma, Hokkaido. Rice cultivation in the area was in doubt this year due to the quake. But although the quake damaged the paddy field, including by causing the land to rise, Yasuo managed to restore the field and his rice is growing well. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

ATSUMA, Hokkaido -- One year has passed since a powerful earthquake struck Hokkaido, claiming the lives of 44 people.

Early in the morning of Sept. 6 last year, Yasuo Sato woke with a jolt as he was sleeping on the second floor of his home in Atsuma, Hokkaido. As he looked out of the window, the 64-year-old saw trees on the mountain behind his home sliding downward.

At the break of dawn, he found the adjacent house was buried under a massive landslide. The house was that of his cousin, then 65-year-old Masayoshi Sato, who Yasuo said grew up with him like a brother.

Yasuo Sato watches a search operation for his cousin Masayoshi Sato on Sept. 8 last year. The crushed agricultural machinery seen in this photo belonged to Masayoshi and was damaged by a landslide. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

Masayoshi's body was recovered two days later, one of 37 people who died in Atsuma due to the earthquake.

The area where Yasuo's house stands was designated as a hazardous zone due to landslides triggered by the quake. While living in a temporary housing unit, Yasuo continues to work as a rice farmer and takes care of Masayoshi's paddy fields in addition to his own. The two were committed to helping each other farm and Yasuo wants to maintain the paddy fields that Masayoshi cherished like a child.

However, "I still can't accept what has happened," Yasuo said.

This aerial photo taken on Aug. 27 shows an area where many people died in landslides triggered by the Hokkaido earthquake on Sept. 6, 2018. Reconstruction work is still underway in the area. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

More than 300 people in Atsuma still live in temporary housing units. One such resident is Tadao Nakamura, 57, who lost his then 76-year-old mother, Miyo, in the quake. The first floor of their wooden house, where Miyo was sleeping, collapsed in a landslide. Her body was recovered 16 hours after the incident.

In November last year, Nakamura began living alone in a temporary housing unit. His room is about the size of a 10-tatami mat room and is now equipped with daily necessities, including a TV, bed and table.

However, he is anxious about his future. Nakamura can live in the temporary housing unit until the end of October next year. He said he wants to get his life back to normal as soon as possible.

Tadao Nakamura is seen at his temporary housing unit in Atsuma, Hokkaido, on Aug. 22. Recalling how his mother worked energetically in the fields before she was killed in the quake, Nakamura said, "She could have lived longer if the earthquake hadn't happened." (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

"I wonder if I can stay healthy and work until the mandatory retirement age. I want to settle down in a new home," Nakamura said.

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