Tadashi Ono Gallery / Sara Urbaez / April 23, 2018 9:58 AM
Tadashi Ono01Following the 2011 tsunami the Japanese government began building seawalls like this one in Ofunato Bay, Iwate prefecture.
Tadashi Ono02The walls, including this one in Ofunato Bay, Iwate prefecture, are up to 41 feet high and intended to hold back a tidal surge.
Tadashi Ono03Walls such as this, in Ofunato Bay, Iwate prefecture, are controversial because of their ecological impact.
Tadashi Ono04This wall along Ofunato Bay, in Iwate prefecture, has narrow windows allowing residents to see the ocean.
Tadashi Ono05The tourism industry in Japan's northeastern coast has been hurt by the seawalls.
Tadashi Ono06The Japanese government has spent around $12 billion to build walls like this one on Ryori Bay, Iwate prefecture.
Tadashi Ono07The construction of seawalls like this one on Kesennuma Bay, Miyagi prefecture, have been a boon to the giant Japanese construction companies awarded government contracts.
Tadashi Ono08Local residents complain that walls such as this, on Hirota Bay, Miyagi prefecture, impede their views of the ocean and cause environmental damage.
Tadashi Ono09Hundreds of miles of walls have been built, including this stretch on Toni Bay, Iwate prefecture.
Tadashi Ono10Fishermen complain that walls like this one on Hirota Bay, Iwate prefecture, prevent nutrient-rich runoff from the mountains from reaching the sea.
Tadashi Ono11Because coastal villages have been relocated to higher ground, much of the land behind the seawalls is uninhabited.
Tadashi Ono12Photographer Tadashi Ono believes walls like this one on Miyako Bay, Iwate prefecture, are a rejection of Japanese history and culture.
Tadashi Ono13Some Japanese residents believe walls like this one on Miyako Bay, Iwate prefecture, are actually counterproductive because they provide a false sense of security.
Tadashi Ono14Ono believes that building walls goes against the Japanese tradition of cooperating with the sea.
Tadashi Ono15Throughout its history, Japan has been enriched and protected by the ocean, but now it's building walls—like this one on Taro Bay, Iwate prefecture—to keep the ocean out.
Tadashi Ono16Ono believes the walls, like this one in Raga Bay, Iwate prefecture, are being "constructed just to be constructed."
Tadashi Ono17Only time will tell if walls like this one in Raga Bay, Iwate prefecture, will protect the Japanese coast from future tsunamis.
