Mental Health of Miyagi Prefecture Residents Seven Years after the Great East Japan Earthquake

Seven years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake left many injured and dead in the Tohoku area of Japan in 2011. To understand the long-term effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake on the health status of residents in the disaster area, we conducted an original survey in 2018. This paper examines the long-term effects of the earthquake on the mental health status of residents of Miyagi prefecture, which was severely devastated by the earthquake and tsunami. Using original survey data, we identify the mechanisms by which different types of damage have impacted residents' mental health. Our analyses confirm that injury to or loss of a family member had a significant long-term effect on respondents' mental health, as measured by indices of mental health status, cognitive condition, and motivation for work and daily life. Also, the results of a robustness check using physical health status as the outcome variable further identify the mechanisms underlying the effects of different types of damage on residents' health. Understanding the pathway by which the earthquake has influenced residents' mental health will help policymakers to design effective ways to support them. For example, according to our findings, providing ongoing mental health support to those residents facing injury to or loss of family members would effectively relieve the stress associated with the earthquake and promote the recovery of their mental health and motivation for work and daily life. However, this paper has some limitations. For example, as the measurements of the types of damage are relatively crude, measurement errors could have contaminated our statistical results. In addition, we did not use the random sampling method for data collection, which could have led to biased results.