The government said Wednesday that it will allow residents of five towns in the evacuation zone around the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to return home for the New Year period.
The temporary stay will be limited to six days (Dec 29-Jan 3) in five municipalities in Fukushima. They include evacuation zones such as Iitate village, parts of which are still in a no-go zone.
A Minamisoma official said it is unlikely that residents will be able to stay longer than one day since sewage, water and other infrastructure have not been fully restored.
© Japan Today
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smithinjapan
Why let them go at all? I understand the sentiment, but the risks could be akin to given the elderly rice cakes in 'celebration'. Okay, I can maybe see SOME areas, but places that are still no-go zones and have no working sewage, water, and other infrastructures? Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me.
Ranger_Miffy2
Sounds like a horrible homecoming. Looking forward to the reports from those who go. Face it, folks. It is over in the affected areas.
bajhista65
Since their land are dead, I think the best way for the TEPCO and the JGovt is to buy their land so they can start anew in other areas with normal radiation levels. Plus the compensation they will received.
Daijoboots
Understand the sentiment.....please. People want to return home and gather belongings etc. Wearing protective gear this should present little issue for one day or so especially for those of middle age and up.
Did it ever begin for you?
kurisupisu
The radioactive emissions were so severe after the 11th of March that the Japanese government has never disclosed that data.for months and months after Speedi data was not available for the earthquake zones, the reason being that the measuring equipment was damaged. Consequently, residents were left to linger in the path of radioactivity when they should have been moved. The massive amounts of money donated to help the residents of contaminated areas in Japan from those in Japan and from outside is not being handed over. People are going to visit out of economic necessity ie to retrieve hankos or bank books into deadly areas of contamination when this should not be necessary.......
Leslie Corrice
Japan's national standards for radiation exposure are 10 times lower than the rest of the world. Tokyo caters to fear of radiation...no doubt about it. If they are allowing people to go home for six days, then it must necessarily be ultra safe. It shows that they should let the people go home now. It suggests they should never have been forced to evacuate in the first place. If Kan's cabinet had used SPEEDI like they were supposed to, this political disaster would never have had to happen.
YuriOtani
bajhista65 there is no such thing as
ThonTaddeo
Because the land belongs to these people, not to the government.