The statistics say Yoshiaki Suda should be browbeaten and downcast. Instead, the Onagawa Mayor is almost Mediterranean in his ebullience.

Onagawa was devastated when the tsunami swept in to this port town of just over 10,000 people last year. One in every 10 citizens was killed and more than 70 per cent of the town's buildings were destroyed.

But thanks to the spirit of youth, the town is making strides in its recovery. Some of the town's expatriate sons and daughters are returning to join the rebuilding, led by this 39-year-old mayor.

In a country ruled mostly by septuagenarians in suits, Suda, a heavy-metal fan who strums his base guitar at nights while mulling over his reconstruction plans, stands out as almost outrageously young.

The mayor pays due deference to his elders on the council and the community in our interview, but acknowledges there's an amicable generational shift in power under way in Onagawa. "My generation will be the main players in 20 years time so I thought: 'Why don't we step up and take responsibility now?'," he says.