11 years after the "3.11" earthquake in Japan, 38,000 people still cannot return to their homes——

The follow-up of the Fukushima nuclear accident is very difficult (in-depth observation)

　　Our reporter Yue Linwei

　　"People's Daily" (15th edition on March 23, 2022)

　　On March 11, 2011, an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 occurred in the waters off northeastern Japan. The huge tsunami triggered by the earthquake hit the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, causing the cores of Units 1 to 3 of the nuclear power plant to melt down.

Today, 11 years later, how to deal with the aftermath of nuclear accidents such as the massive nuclear pollution of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and how to restore the production and life of the local people as soon as possible, is still a difficult problem for the Japanese government.

Data map: Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

　　After the Fukushima nuclear accident, the Japanese government asked surrounding residents to seek refuge elsewhere.

According to statistics, the number of "nuclear accident victims" who left their original residences and took refuge in various places in Fukushima Prefecture peaked at more than 160,000.

So far, there are still about 38,000 victims who have not been able to return to their homes.

There are 337 square kilometers of land in the 7 administrative regions of Fukushima Prefecture that are still in the "difficult area for return" with high radiation levels.

　　Long-term evacuation has brought a lot of inconvenience and psychological pressure to the victims.

According to the statistics of the Japan Reconstruction Agency, in the past 11 years, the number of "earthquake-related deaths" has reached 3,784.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the number of suicides related to the earthquake disaster reached 246.

　　Unuma Hisae's hometown is only 2.5 kilometers away from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant where the accident occurred. After the earthquake, she went to Kasu City, Saitama Prefecture, and found a temporary residence.

In her hometown, she mainly raised cattle and planted rice, but now she has switched to vegetables for a living.

"After 11 years of wind and rain, the house in my hometown is in dire straits. The way home is too difficult." Unuma Hisae said.

　　The issue of nuclear contamination still looms over Fukushima.

According to data released by Fukushima Prefecture, after the Japanese government carried out nuclear pollution cleanup operations in the surrounding areas of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, the area of ​​"evacuation-designated areas" prohibited from living accounted for as a percentage of the total area of ​​Fukushima Prefecture, up from about 12% in 2011 Reduced to about 2.4% in 2020.

However, after the lifting of the ban in many areas, it is still impossible to resume normal agricultural production.

　　Lin Xunping, an associate professor at Fukushima University, has been tracking and studying the impact of nuclear pollution on local agriculture, forestry, and fisheries for a long time. He pointed out that naturally grown mountain vegetables and mushrooms can still detect high doses of radioactive substances.

Not only the areas with evacuation instructions, but also wild crops in Fukushima City, Date City and other areas are prohibited from being sold on the market.

Many forests, fields, lakes and ponds cannot be used due to the influence of nuclear radiation and have been abandoned for a long time.

　　Local victims have also repeatedly protested that relief support measures from the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Co., a party to the Fukushima nuclear accident, are shrinking.

According to Japanese media reports, the Japanese government's policy of reducing and exempting medical expenses for disaster victims will be adjusted as soon as 2023, with the aim of reducing support and eventually abolishing it.

The "Comprehensive Disaster Victim Support Fund" established in fiscal 2016 is mainly used for psychological care of victims. 11.5 billion yen in 2022, a decrease of nearly half.

　　The "Tokyo Shimbun" recently published an editorial pointing out that the "Nuclear Accident Children and Victims Support Law" passed by the Japanese parliament in 2012 clearly stipulates that citizens have the "right to asylum" from nuclear radiation.

However, the Japanese government has not established a mechanism to guarantee the right to asylum.

Human rights without safeguard mechanisms are nothing more than a pancake to feed one's hunger.

　　In the face of the losses and post-disaster reconstruction work caused by the Fukushima nuclear accident, several local administrative agencies of cities, towns and villages in Fukushima Prefecture requested compensation from Tokyo Electric Power Company.

However, according to statistics, as of December 2021, TEPCO has only paid 50% of the total compensation amount of 149.86 billion yen, and many cities, towns and villages have received less than 10% of the requested amount.

　　"Fukushima People's Daily" commented that 11 years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident.

Many disaster victims have been forced to cut off contact with their hometowns, and the issue of compensation has not been resolved so far.

　　The issue of the treatment of nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant remains controversial.

In April last year, the Japanese government officially decided to discharge the treated nuclear-contaminated water into the sea, with plans to start in the spring of 2023.

The nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant contains various radioactive substances such as cesium, strontium, and tritium.

The Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Co said the use of a filter called "multinuclide removal equipment" could filter out 62 types of radioactive substances other than tritium, which is difficult to remove from water.

Japanese fishing groups strongly oppose this approach.

About 60% of the mayors of the 42 cities, towns and villages affected by the disaster in Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate prefectures opposed the above-mentioned decision to discharge nuclear-contaminated water into the sea.

　　Kawasaki Kota, a professor at Fukushima University, said that the post-disaster reconstruction of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Nuclear Accident has a premise, that is, to realize the "spatial revival" of the disaster area by promoting administrative public utilities in the physical space of the disaster area, and then to promote and realize "Rejuvenation of People", rebuilding the lives of victims.

However, from the effect point of view, the Japanese government has not done enough in this regard.

　　(This newspaper, Tokyo, March 22)