Returning Home Policy Goes On

After four and a half years from severe accident in First Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, the government of Japan lifted evacuation order to the residence in Naraha Town, located twenty kilometers south of the plant on Saturday. While the government insisted that radiation level in the air was reduced as low as 0.3µSv per hour, only a few people had reported to get back their hometown. It makes clear that once contaminated land does not fit for raising small children, in spite of governmental effort to prove that nuclear accident does not eliminate livable land.

Naraha became the third place where evacuation order was lifted, following Miyakoji district of Tamura city in the west of the plant and eastern part of Kawauchi village in the southwest. It was the first time for the people in a town that was ordered entire evacuation to get back home.

The nuclear accident struck Naraha severely. During the entire evacuation, houses and buildings were mostly left behind without maintenance. One out of ten deregistered as residents of the town, disappointed to the future of their hometown. Instead of them, workers for dismantling broken nuclear reactors or decontamination are living in temporary houses in the town.

Receiving support from national government, Naraha town prepared various measures to encourage returning home. For the people getting back home, the town runs free bus to connect them with hospital or start delivery service for daily goods to each houses. But, with declining tax income in finance of town government, Naraha is highly dependent on support from national government. Once national government stops providing support, the town will not be able to go on. Actually, national government has decided to abolish “moral support” for the people, ¥100,000 a month, in March 2018.

Before lifting evacuation order, national government allowed Naraha residents temporary stay. But, it was only 11% of the people who got back home then. 0.3µSv of radiation is as ten times high as in Tokyo. Naraha people who are living life with kids in evacuation without any fear of radiation can hardly decide to go home on contaminated land. Only some old people may go home and wait for their children or grandchildren to visit them in summer vacation or new year recess.

Nobody knows whether living in contaminated land is safe for people’s health. The government controls the information about health survey for people in Fukushima too strict to achieve credibility for their policies. It is cruel to present only one choice, getting back home, to the suffered people.