New Lifting of Evacuation Order

The government of Japan lifted evacuation order to the residents in three towns and a village around First Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant at the end of March or April 1^st. Although the area of evacuation order shrank to 30% from the level of right after the severe accident in 2011, only one resident out of ten is expected to return home. The government is going to cut off the support for the people who do not return home, while they are able to.

The evacuation order was applied to eleven cities, towns or villages right after the accident. The government started lifting the order in April 2014 with reason that decontamination in the area had made progress. With the lifting evacuation order this spring, 32 thousand residents were allowed to go home. Among total 52,370 residents allowed to go back, only 8.6% of then has been registered to the returners.

Why don’t they go back home? It is easy. It is because infrastructure of their life in hometown has not been rebuilt, even how the government informs them progress of decontamination. Doctors have not returned to their local hospital or clinic. Schools are mostly empty with reluctance of residents to return home, being afraid of negative impact of radiation on their children. Six years after the severe accident, the evacuees have settled in the cities they actually live now.

To maintain their hometown anyhow, the local governments welcome the workers for decommissioning the broken reactors in First Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant as new residents. The national government promotes Innovation Coast Initiative, which will build new accumulation of research institute for the decommissioning or development in robot technology. Town of Tomioka, located in the south of the plant, was successful in inviting new research institute, in compensation with accepting final processing of contaminated grasses or ashes.

Those new residents of workers in the nuclear plant cause friction with the natives. While only 818 native residents have returned home in Naraha Town, about 1,500 workers live in the town now. The natives are frustrated with the manner of new residents not to abide by the rule for disposal of garbage, which causes mess with wildlife like boars or crows. The arrest of plant workers who thieved bicycle made the old residents feeling uneasy.

Fukushima Prefectural Government ended support for the rent of voluntary evacuees in March. Reducing the burden of unprecedented severe nuclear accident is one of the top agenda of Japanese government. To improve financial balance of national budget, the evacuees are left behind with pressure to go back home.