WEEKLY KAGOSHIMA on the Web

Earthquake evacuees: “Can’t go back”
Six months after the Great East Japan Earthquake, the local newspaper company, Minaminippon Shimbun, sent out questionnaires to 31 people from 26 households who had evacuated to Kagoshima Prefecture. The survey had been conducted between August 24 and September 7 either by interview or by asking the evacuees to fill out a form.
When asked about their will to return to their former habitation area before the catastrophe, those who hoped to return home totalled 12 with seven who “hope to return” and five who “hope to return when possible,” while three said they “do not want to go back” and five answered that they “would rather not go back.” The top answer was they “can’t say either way” with nine people. To the question about their circumstances of life, the typical response was “difficult”, with many of them leading a double life with only wife and children taking shelter after leaving husbands in their hometowns.
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＜タイトル＞
震災避難者：「戻れない」
＜第１パラグラフ＞
The ~ Earthquake：東日本大震災　　　questionnaire：アンケート　　　household：世帯　　　evacuate to…：・・・に避難する（shelter in, take refuge in）　　　survey：調査（research, inquiry）　　　conduct：・・・を実施する（carry out, perform, do）　　　fill out：・・・を埋める
＜第２パラグラフ＞
Former：以前の（previous, ex-）　　　hsabitation area：居住地域　　　catastrophe：大災害（disaster, calamity）　　　total：総計して・・・になる（amount, sum; come to）　　　circumstance of life：暮らし向き　　　typical response：典型的な反応　　　lead a life：生活を送る　　　take shelter：避難する