Iwanuma wants IR for disaster recovery

Tuesday 18th of July 2017

The city council of Iwanuma, in Japan’s northern Miyagi Prefecture, envisions a bid for an IR as a measure to help the local area recover from the March 2011 tsunami that devastated Japan.

Little noticed at the time, the Iwanuma City Council passed a motion on June 22 to begin a feasibility study regarding an IR bid.

The full text of the city council’s motion was provided to AGB yesterday.

“There is a strong necessity that the Tohoku region quickly invite an IR,” the text of the document explains, “This is part of the recovery process from the Great East Japan Earthquake for the prefectures of Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima. Also, the Tohoku region is facing severe depopulation and aging, and it has fallen behind the rest of the country in terms of developing its tourism industry. The need for something to drive forward our tourism industry is clear.”

The advantages of Iwanuma cited by the city council are its location near the heart of the Tohoku region as well as the fact that Sendai Airport—“the Doorway to Tohoku”—is right on the city border.

At present there are no other local municipalities in the Tohoku region which have made visible efforts to join the IR race.

Bricks & Mortar Bid IR