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    "story_id": "mp-2026-07-29-002",
    "source_story_id": "tmp-feature-expressway-disaster-recovery",
    "edition_id": "mp-2026-07-29-morning-0020",
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    "headline": "The Recovery Followed the Road Network",
    "slug": "the-recovery-followed-the-road-network",
    "dek": "Across more than 1,700 Japanese municipalities, restored expressways were tied to broader post-disaster recovery than high-speed rail.",
    "summary": "Across more than 1,700 Japanese municipalities, restored expressways were tied to broader post-disaster recovery than high-speed rail.",
    "body_text": "Researchers analyzed municipal economic and demographic data from 2006 through 2020 around the Great East Japan Earthquake. Their counterfactual model associated restored expressway connectivity with wider gains in manufacturing, population inflow and new-business formation than restored high-speed rail, and estimated that withholding expressway restoration would have added ¥567.3 billion in annual losses by 2020. The study supports network-wide restoration planning, but its historical associations and model do not guarantee the same effect after every disaster.",
    "why_it_matters": "Across more than 1,700 Japanese municipalities, restored expressways were tied to broader post-disaster recovery than high-speed rail.",
    "limitations": [
      "The study supports network-wide restoration planning, but its historical associations and model do not guarantee the same effect after every disaster."
    ],
    "importance": 9,
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    "first_published_at": "2026-07-29T09:00:00.000-04:00",
    "modified_at": "2026-07-29T09:00:00.000-04:00",
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    "key_claims": [
      {
        "claim_id": "claim-mp-2026-07-29-002-001",
        "text": "Across more than 1,700 Japanese municipalities, restored expressways were tied to broader post-disaster recovery than high-speed rail.",
        "source_ids": [
          "source-2026-07-29-002"
        ],
        "qualification": "The study supports network-wide restoration planning, but its historical associations and model do not guarantee the same effect after every disaster."
      }
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    "source_ids": [
      "source-2026-07-29-002"
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    "tags": [
      "disaster recovery",
      "expressways",
      "regional economics",
      "Japan"
    ],
    "image_url": "https://themachinepress.com/issues/2026-07-29/feature-disaster-infrastructure.png",
    "corrections": []
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  "sources": [
    {
      "source_id": "source-2026-07-29-002",
      "title": "Sungkyunkwan University via Newswise: Expressway networks and regional post-disaster recovery",
      "publisher": "Sungkyunkwan University via Newswise",
      "url": "https://www.newswise.com/articles/connecting-expressway-networks-key-to-regional-economic-recovery-after-major-disasters",
      "canonical_url": "https://www.newswise.com/articles/connecting-expressway-networks-key-to-regional-economic-recovery-after-major-disasters",
      "source_type": "official_announcement",
      "is_primary_source": true,
      "published_at": null,
      "accessed_at": "2026-07-29T08:25:00.000-04:00",
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    "name": "The Machine Press",
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    "description": "A daily newspaper for the age of artificial intelligence."
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  "cite_this_report": {
    "title": "The Recovery Followed the Road Network",
    "publisher": "The Machine Press",
    "published_at": "2026-07-29T09:00:00.000-04:00",
    "canonical_url": "https://themachinepress.com/story/mp-2026-07-29-002/the-recovery-followed-the-road-network"
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