Japan reopens three beaches hit by 2011 disaster

TOKYO - Japan has reopened three beaches in regions devastated by the 2011 tsunami and resulting Fukushima nuclear disaster after years of reconstruction efforts, officials said on Monday.

Local officials in Fukushima said they hoped the opening of the Haragamaobama beach would help change perceptions of the region, which has become inextricably linked with the 2011 disaster.

One of the reopened waterfronts is Haragamaobama beach in Fukushima prefecture, about 40 kilometers north of the crippled Daiichi nuclear plant.