The Journal of Commerce Online - News Story
All Japanese ports affected by the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit the northeastern part of the country on March 11 have now reopened, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
The Port of Oarai in Ibaraki Prefecture reopened on Thursday, becoming the last of the 15 major ports along the Pacific coast of the Tohoku and Kanto regions to become usable again.
The Ports of Ofunato in Iwate Prefecture and Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture reopened Tuesday and Wednesday.
The 15 ports are now usable for both disaster-related and ordinary purposes, the ministry said.
All 11 local airports in the northeastern part of the country had already reopened by the end of last week. Sendai Airport, which suffered serious damage as it bore the brunt of the killer tsunami, is available only to aircraft carrying relief supplies. It is expected to take several months for the airport to resume regular passenger flight services.
A ban on ordinary vehicles was completely lifted on the Tohoku Expressway and Ban-etsu Expressway on Thursday. The full opening to traffic of the two vital arteries, which crisscross the northeastern part of the country, is expected to make significant contributions to rehabilitating crippled distribution networks.
The damage to transport infrastructure, fuel shortages and fears of a serious nuclear disaster involving one of Tokyo Electric Power's nuclear plants, have hampered relief and recovery efforts in the worst-hit areas.
Tokyo Electric Power's Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture has suffered fires and explosions, leaking radiation. People living within a 12.5-mile radius of the 40-year-old plant have been evacuated.
The Japanese government estimated economic impacts of the March 11 twin natural disasters between $200 billion and $300 billion, well beyond the $123.5 billion damages from the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake that pummeled Kobe and its environs in western Japan.
