일본의 쓰나미 대비방지벽 Great wall of Japan

높이 14미터
땅속으로 박은 파일 깊이 25미터
지면과 닿는 부분 너비 40미터
총길이 2.5킬로미터
향후 400킬로미터까지 연장할 예정이고 관련 예산 약 19조원 책정함

When a massive tsunami engulfed the north-eastern coastline of Japan a decade ago, it wiped out everything in its path, flattening villages, killing nearly 20,000 people and triggering a nuclear meltdown.

The old seawalls which had been built along the coastline to protect villages and infrastructure offered little protection.

Today, the government's solution to the next tsunami is to build an even bigger and longer seawall to protect Japan's coastal communities.

Up to 14 metres high and 400 kilometres long, the new seawall is dividing communities, and some fear, placing them in greater danger.

Presented by former Japan correspondent Mark Willacy, The Great Wall of Japan ravels along the north-eastern coast of Japan's main island to meet the fishermen and communities affected by one of the country's biggest ever construction projects.

Oyster farmer Atsushi Fujita has mixed feelings about the wall, saying it's destroying his community's livelihood and culture.

"We're all very sad that our former lifestyle has gone and we can no longer see the ocean from our windows. It's really affecting us a lot."

In the village of Akahama, fisherman Hiromi Kawaguchi has galvanised locals against the building of a giant wall. While he lost his wife and mother to the 2011 tsunami, he has no faith a new seawall will protect locals in the event of another great wave.

"In the last tsunami, the old wall was destroyed and its remains were left floating on the surface like cubes of tofu. Everything man-made is destined to be destroyed. It's inevitable."

But others support the wall, including construction executive Kazunori Yamamoto, who believes the old seawall saved his family in 2011.

"The breakwater earned us precious time, enabling a lot of people to escape. Without the breakwater, my whole family would have died."

cientists are divided on the benefits. Some say the wall will slow a tsunami's advance, allowing more time for people to escape. Others say it will do the opposite, providing a false sense of security, delaying departure and putting people in greater danger.

Some believe the $17 billion spent on the wall's construction could have been better used moving more communities to higher ground.

As Japan commemorates the tsunami's 10th anniversary, this is a moving and timely story from the region hardest hit by the 2011 disaster.