THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
December 18, 2024 at 16:31 JST
Ichiro Suenaga returns to his abandoned home in the nuclear evacuation zone of Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, on Oct. 18. (Akira Hatano)
NAMIE, Fukushima Prefecture–A significant shift in Japan's energy policy has sparked outrage among evacuees such as Ichiro Suenaga who were forced to flee their homes following the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
The draft of a new energy plan has removed the pledge to "reduce dependence on nuclear power as much as possible," a policy that was adopted in response to the triple meltdowns triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
For Suenaga, 68, the removal of this line feels like a betrayal.
"There are still things that need to be done before changing the policy," he said in anger.
Even though his home, in the Tsushima district of Namie, is more than 30 kilometers from the nuclear plant, radiation levels remain high in the mountainous area.
Most of the district, once home to about 1,400 people, remains uninhabitable.
Suenaga's father, who had longed to return to the home, passed away the year after the accident due to deteriorating health in the aftermath of the disaster.
The evacuation order remains in place for Suenaga's neighborhood. When he returns temporarily to mow the grass, he finds his home in disarray, with old newspapers spread across the table, a sagging floor and animal droppings scattered about.
“Tears come to my eyes when I think about all the hard work we put into building this house. I thought I would live here until I died,” Suenaga said. “Since the government caused this, they need to restore it.”
Having served as a community leader for his neighborhood for 12 years until this spring, Suenaga accompanied local officials to Tokyo to make requests to the government on behalf of the evacuees.
However, he felt that public interest and concern about Fukushima had diminished over time.
“The disaster has become something of the past in Tokyo,” he said.
BACK ONLINE
After the Fukushima accident, all nuclear power plants in the country were shut down. However, the government and utilities have since brought some back online one by one.
This includes the Onagawa nuclear power plant in neighboring Miyagi Prefecture, which restarted in October. The plant was also hit by the tsunami in the 2011 earthquake but escaped a disaster.
Reiko Hachisuka from Okuma, where the Fukushima plant is located, expressed similar, if more complicated, sentiments.
As the head of the town's commerce and industry association, she understands the benefits that nuclear plants bring to the local economy. Still, she cannot fully support the government’s return to nuclear power.
“The line pledging reduced dependence on nuclear power should remain in the policy,” said Hachisuka, 72.
Thirteen years after the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, evacuation orders are still in place for seven municipalities in the prefecture, forcing more than 25,000 people to remain displaced.
In fact, the nation’s nuclear emergency declaration triggered by the accident has not been officially lifted.
"The disaster is being forgotten while there are still people who cannot return to their homes," Hachisuka said.
(This article was written by Akira Hatano and Nobuyuki Takiguchi.)
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