Makeshift malls slow to open (JAPAN)

[AsahinaKimi]

Open for business: Shopkeepers wait for customers at a makeshift store in Miyako, Iwate Prefecture, on Thursday. KYODO PHOTOKyodo

SENDAI — The slow construction of makeshift malls undertaken by a government-linked group has frustrated shopkeepers and restaurateurs who are still unable to reopen their businesses four months after the March disasters.

Construction has begun at two locations, but none has been completed, due largely to the difficulties the Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation has had in finding suitable locations.

About 270 business operators in 40 municipalities have submitted requests to the group for makeshift facilities, including offices and factories, to resume their businesses.

Makeshift malls are being developed in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, and Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture, with plans to open the first one in mid-August at the earliest.

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**we seem to take supermarkets and stores for granted, imagine being in a disaster zone? Great that these makeshift malls are finally going up..