Some radiated areas in Japan cleared for residents' return
Japan's government lifted a 4 1/2-year-old evacuation order on Saturday for the northeastern town of Naraha that had driven all the town's 7,400 residents away after the disaster at the nearby Fukushima nuclear plant.
Naraha was the first of seven municipalities that saw the order lifted. The communities were emptied because of radiation contamination after a massive earthquake and tsunami that sent the plant's reactors into triple meltdowns in March 2011.
The central government has said decontamination efforts have reduced radiation levels in Naraha to safe levels.
According to a government survey, however, 53 percent of the evacuees from Naraha, which lies 20 kilometers south of the plant, say they're either not ready to return permanently or are undecided. Some say they've found jobs elsewhere over the past few years, while others cite continuing concerns over radiation.
Naraha is a test case, as most residents remain cautious amid lingering health concerns and a lack of infrastructure. In the formerly abandoned town, a segment of a national railway remains out of service, its tracks covered with grass. Some houses are falling down, and wild boars roam freely at night.
Only about 100 of the nearly 2,600 households have returned since a trial period began in April. Last year, the government lifted evacuation orders for parts of two nearby towns, but only about half their former residents have returned.
Naraha Mayor Yukiei Matsumoto said that Saturday marked an important milestone.
"Our clock started moving again," he said during a ceremony held at a children's park. "The lifting of the evacuation order is one key step, but this is just a start."
(China Daily 09/07/2015 page12)
