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Supermarket chain Aeon opened a new store in Namie town, Fukushima Prefecture, on Sunday, for the first time since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant disaster in 2011 caused the evacuation of the town.
Namie, along with neighboring Futaba and Tomioka towns, were subject to government evacuation orders in the wake of the crisis. The evacuation order for Namie was partially lifted in 2017, but 49.9 percent of former residents said they would not return, citing concerns over the lack of medical and commercial facilities, as well as the fact that they had established lives elsewhere.
Namie now has about 1,000 residents, about 5% of its original population. Public broadcaster NHK reported that the opening of the Aeon outlet drew many shoppers who purchased seafood, liquor and dairy items.
© Japan Today/Kyodo
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San Miguel
'As Japan marked the eighth anniversary of the disaster last month, a Greenpeace investigation revealed high levels of radiation in areas that have been declared safe, and accused the government of misleading the international community about the risks faced by returning evacuees and decontamination workers.'
PDF
https://storage.googleapis.com/planet4-japan-stateless/2019/03/b12d8f83-frontfksm_en.pdf
Original Article
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/10/fukushima-disaster-first-residents-return-to-town-next-to-nuclear-plant
Do the hustle
This is the stupid thing about lifting the evacuation orders. Once the government lifts the evacuation order the residents receive no further financial assistance and are expected to move back. However, there are very few amenities and a lack of infrastructure for people to return to. The government should be focused on bringing commerce and amenities back to these areas before they force people to move back there.
socrateos
San Miguel
I do not have much trust in data "revealed" by politically motivated organizations of left or right.
Patricia Yarrow
Not seeing why anyone at all would want to live the radioactive (in spots!) Namie.
mmwkdw
Well good on Aeon for being an employer within such a region.
sf2k
Uh no, don't force anyone to live there, blockade the area off for the next 400 years.