A shop in Tokyo that sells specialties from Ishikawa Prefecture is supporting reconstruction following the powerful earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula two years ago.

The shop, Yaesu Ishikawa Terrace, which opened near Tokyo Station two months after the Jan. 1, 2024, temblor, aims to stay close to those affected, although it is about 300 kilometers away from areas hit by the disaster.

Yaesu Ishikawa Terrace is now preparing to sell tableware of a Wajima-nuri lacquerware shop from an affected area starting in March.

According to Kazuma Naoi, 41, who is in charge of managing Yaesu Ishikawa Terrace, the shop faced a flurry of cancellations from businesses that had planned to supply their products to the store at its March 2024 opening, as they had to deal with the aftermath of the earthquake.

At the start, products from the quake-hit Noto region accounted for only about 10%, compared with the initially planned 20% to 30%.

The situation in the affected areas was ¡°tragic,¡± Naoi said, recalling his visit to the Noto Peninsula in September 2024, eight months after the quake. Collapsed buildings and roads were left unattended, and while some businesses had resumed operations, their facilities remained littered with debris, Naoi said.

Still, Naoi gradually started to see changes in the attitudes of disaster-hit businesses.

As work to remove debris and restore damaged roads made progress, Naoi was able to hold a business meeting in the city of Wajima in December for the first time since the quake, which registered 7, the highest level on the Japanese seismic intensity scale, in the city.

The meeting was attended by 11 business operators, including a Wajima-nuri artisan, a blueberry farmer and a salt manufacturer.

One of them said, ¡°I¡¯m now finally able to think about my business (about two years after the earthquake),¡± while another stated, ¡°I will work hard because I don¡¯t want people to forget about the earthquake.¡±

However, some people are still unable to return to their homes, and many businesses have no prospect of resuming operations due to a decrease in tourists, Naoi said.

Also, many affected businesses need to sell their products at shops outside Ishikawa to make a living. ¡°Noto¡¯s reconstruction is still a long way off,¡± Naoi said.

Even so, Naoi said, ¡°I want to support reconstruction by handling as many products as possible at Yaesu Ishikawa Terrace.¡±

¡°I want people to know about the attractions and the current situation of Noto through the products and not to forget about the earthquake,¡± he said.