Photo/Illutration One of the photos that will be displayed in the exhibition by Leslie Kee (Provided by Leslie Kee)

An exhibition of photographs spotlighting the lives of residents of Fukushima Prefecture taken by renowned photographer Leslie Kee will be held simultaneously in six municipalities in the prefecture from Dec. 16 to 22.

Soon after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, Kee entered the disaster areas to take photos. But more than a decade later, he said he feels that “the people who are living there now are no longer visible to the world.”

This summer, he traveled 160 kilometers across the prefecture from Minami-Soma to Iwaki, photographing more than 140 people.

“These are hard-working people from Fukushima Prefecture,” Kee said. “I hope that conveying them through photos will encourage other people as well.”

The exhibition also has photos of an idol group from the prefecture called “Namie Joshihatsu Kumiai” (Joshihatsu association Namie), which is led by Ayaka Sasaki from “Momoiro Clover Z,” another idol group.

Kee is well-known for photographing popular artists, such as Yumi Matsutoya, Ayumi Hamasaki and Lady Gaga.

The exhibition, called “Still the Town is Here/ That’s Why I’m Here,” was organized by the executive committee preparation office of the Fukushima Hamadori Kokusai Geijutsusai (Fukushima Hamadori international art festival).

The Hamadori coastal area is where the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant is located and was greatly affected by the triple meltdown there in 2011.

Around 60 works will be exhibited at six venues in Minami-Soma, Namie, Futaba, Okuma, Tomioka, and Naraha in Fukushima Prefecture. Admission is free.

More details can be found on the official Japanese-language website: https://www.fukushima-hamadoori.jp/

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