Overview
- Attendees observed a 4:10 p.m. moment of silence in Wajima, the exact time the magnitude 7.6 quake struck on Jan. 1, 2024, with tributes also for those lost in the September 2024 rains.
- Official counts list 228 direct deaths in Ishikawa and about 470 additional fatalities across Ishikawa, Niigata and Toyama linked to deteriorating health after the disaster.
- About 18,000 to 18,300 people — roughly 9,000 households — remain in temporary housing, while construction has begun on only about 5% of the planned 2,986 public housing units.
- The Oku-Noto’s population has fallen more than 10% since the quake, with residents aged 40 and under down about 19%, reflecting fewer jobs and a weakened child-rearing environment.
- Schools in the four hardest-hit municipalities will decline from 35 to 26 by April, and 314 local businesses — 12.2% of the total — have closed since the disaster, according to regional industry groups.