|
Japan's reconstruction following the devastating earthquake and tsunami nearly one year ago exactly is being delayed by an unlikely factor – ghosts. Numerous reports of ghost sightings have reportedly been made by residents in the city of Ishinomaki in Miyagi prefecture, home to nearly a fifth of all tsunami fatalities. Reconstruction and repair have been put on hold in some instances due to workers' fears that the spirits of the dead who passed away a year ago will bring them bad luck if they continue. Highlighting one half-repaired supermarket, local Satoshi Abe, 64, told the reporter: "I heard people working to repair the store became sick because of ghosts. People died here everywhere, here and there. The city is full of such stories." A taxi driver, who did not want to be named, added that he was unwilling to stop in certain parts of the city that were badly damaged in the tsunami for fear of picking up a customer who is a spirit of the dead. Meanwhile, another local woman described hearing stories of people seeing queues of people rushing towards the hills, a replay of their final moment as they attempted to escape the tsunami. As the first anniversary of the disaster approaches, Ishinomaki appears, on the surface at least, to be returning to a new level of normality, with the tsunami debris cleared away in most areas and a growing number of businesses reopening. | 
