Japan marked the fourth anniversary of the fatal Atami landslide on Thursday, with bereaved families and officials holding a memorial for the 28 people killed when illegally dumped soil collapsed into the Izusan district on 3 July 2021. Roughly 55 people, including Shizuoka Governor Yasutomo Suzuki and Atami Mayor Sakae Saito, observed a moment of silence and laid flowers. City figures show 21 households—43 residents—remain displaced, while investigations into responsibility for the unauthorized earthwork continue. Police inquiries and civil suits against the landowner and relevant authorities have yet to establish liability, and court rulings are not expected until the next fiscal year. Eighteen months after the New Year’s Day 2024 earthquake in the Noto Peninsula, Ishikawa Prefecture is also struggling with protracted recovery. The prefecture estimates about 20,000 people are still living in temporary housing, and roughly 40 percent of elderly evacuees have yet to leave welfare shelters. Local governments intend to build about 3,000 units of disaster-public housing, but only a fraction of the projects is slated to break ground this summer. The prolonged displacement is driving up health-care costs. Data from the regional late-stage elderly medical insurance union show per-capita medical expenses for residents aged 75 and above now run between 1.1 and 1.3 times pre-quake levels. At the same time, at least 118 damaged houses with no identifiable owner have been found in six hard-hit municipalities. Officials warn that the administrative burden of tracing ownership and securing court-approved demolition is slowing reconstruction and stretching already thin local workforces. The twin anniversaries underscore the difficulties Japan faces in rebuilding disaster-hit communities, particularly those with aging populations. Prefectural leaders in Shizuoka and Ishikawa say they will press the central government for additional staffing and funding to speed property clearance, restore housing and curb rising social-services costs.