More than ten years after the Fukushima nuclear accident, the reconstruction of the disaster area is slow, and people who have evacuated are unable to return to their homes

　　Tens of thousands of refugees in Japan are still unable to return to their homes

　　 . The reconstruction of the disaster-stricken area has been slow for more than ten years since the Fukushima nuclear accident.

　　□ Our reporter Suning

　　According to Japanese media reports, on May 16, the Atomic Disaster Countermeasures Headquarters of the Japanese government, Fukushima Prefecture and Gewei Village reached an agreement and decided to release the “Specified Reconstruction and Regeneration Base Area” in the Noxing area of ​​Gewei Village, Fukushima Prefecture on June 12. referred to as "Rehabilitation Base") evacuation instructions.

After the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, Japan designated areas severely polluted by nuclear weapons as "difficult areas for return" and strictly prohibited personnel from entering.

However, due to problems such as slow reconstruction and security concerns, up to now, there are still 30,000 people in the disaster-stricken areas who have evacuated outside and cannot return to their hometowns.

　　Local people can't hide their concern

　　According to the "Fukushima Minyou" report, in the face of the imminent lifting of the evacuation order, the people at the Fuxing Base in Gewei Village, Fukushima Prefecture have mixed feelings.

In an interview, they said that at the scene of the briefing on lifting the evacuation instructions, there were both excitement that the ban was finally lifted and worries that the ban would be lifted too early.

　　Hansawa Tomio, who is ready to return to the revival base to start a new life, said that he looked back on the evacuation life in various places and looked forward to the lifting of the ban, but the 11 years of wandering are really too long, and now he will feel tired after doing a little farm work.

Most of the local people have grown old, and the 11-year evacuation life has made these victims exhausted. Facing the restart of their lives, they can imagine their heavy hearts.

"The problem of aging residents is a common issue in nuclear-contaminated areas," said Hiroshi Shinogi, the head of Gewei Village.

　　In addition to the long evacuation time and the aging population, local residents (especially those living in a certain area) still have lingering concerns about the safety of nuclear radiation.

　　Since 2018, the rejuvenation base of Gewei Village has carried out work such as decontamination, infrastructure construction, construction of public areas for residents, and agricultural restoration. The Gewei Village Decontamination Inspection and Certification Committee has determined that the environmental nuclear radiation value "has met the residential requirements".

However, there are not many residents willing to return to their hometowns.

According to the "Fukushima People's Daily" report, among the 82 people from 30 households registered in the Fuxing stronghold of Gewei Village, only 8 people from 4 households showed their intention to return to their hometowns.

　　Not only in Kuzuo Village, but also in the reconstruction bases of other towns and villages in Fukushima Prefecture, there are cases where residents are not very willing to return to their hometowns.

According to a questionnaire survey conducted in Futaba Town, Fukushima Prefecture, which also set up a revival base, 48% of residents said they would like to return home in the future, 30% said they were unsure, and 22% said they decided not to return home.

　　According to a report on the Japanese NIPPON website, the Japanese government has set up rehabilitation centers in 6 towns and villages to promote the reconstruction of the disaster-stricken areas. According to the plan, all rehabilitation centers will gradually lift the evacuation order within this year and next two years.

However, the reality is that the number of residents who are truly willing to return home is very limited.

　　It is not difficult to understand the reality that residents are in a complicated mood and are not very willing to return to their hometowns.

The lifting of the evacuation order at the reconstruction base is a good thing, but the completion of the decommissioning of the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is far from being completed, the nuclear-contaminated water discharge plan has caused controversy, the local climate assessment has deteriorated, and reconstruction and reconstruction are difficult. Real problems that are not faced.

　　Reconstruction progress is slow

　　After the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, the Japanese government set up a restricted area with the nuclear power plant as the center. After several adjustments, the “difficult area for return” is still set up in the narrow strip downwind of the accident site, which is seriously polluted by nuclear pollution, and the area involves Fukushima Prefecture. It has jurisdiction over 7 cities, towns and villages with a total area of ​​337 square kilometers.

The revival bases set up in the "difficult area for return" are the priority areas for post-disaster reconstruction, but the area is not large. For example, the revival base in Gewei Village covers an area of ​​0.95 square kilometers, accounting for only 16 square kilometers of the "difficult area for return" in Gewei Village. of 6%.

　　According to the plan announced by the Japanese government, after the evacuation orders for all 6 reconstruction bases are lifted this year and next, the evacuation orders for the "areas with residents' willingness to return" outside the reconstruction bases will be completed by 2030. To this end, the Japanese government will The decontamination operation was started after consultation with the evacuated residents.

But residents lack confidence in the plans announced by the government.

According to the "Fukushima Minyou" report, although the reconstruction of the stronghold area has made progress, the wider area outside the stronghold is still in its original state after the disaster.

Many dilapidated houses are waiting to be demolished and decontaminated, but because the government has not yet issued relevant measures at the institutional level, it is currently unable to start relevant operations.

　　In this regard, residents are very dissatisfied, and some criticize the government's inefficiency, and it is impossible to complete the process before 2030; Go to all "Return Difficult Areas".

　　At present, there are still more than 30,000 people in the disaster-stricken areas who are unable to return to their hometowns.

Although the government has continued to adjust and narrow the scope of nuclear exclusion zones since 2011, many areas still cannot resume normal agricultural production and life after the lifting of the ban.

　　The fishery industry, a pillar industry in Fukushima Prefecture, is still undergoing a difficult revival.

According to the Japan Reconstruction Agency, after several years of recovery, the fishery production in Fukushima, Miyagi, and Iwate prefectures remained at two-thirds of the pre-disaster level in 2019, especially the coastal fisheries that were severely affected by nuclear pollution. , The trawl fishery has just completed the pilot operation in March 2021, and it will take several years for production and sales to recover.

　　Decontamination is difficult

　　Post-disaster reconstruction is accompanied by many problems such as the disposal of nuclear power plants, the continuous production of nuclear-contaminated water, and huge compensation for victims. The most difficult one is the decontamination operation.

The Japanese government plans to start decontamination work in areas other than the renaissance bases where residents are willing to return home from 2024, but whether the decontamination work can really make the radiation value in the environment lower than the national standard and ensure safety has always been in the hearts of residents. worries.

　　According to an on-site investigation by a Japanese environmental group, the amount of nuclear radiation exceeding the government's radioactive pollution removal standard (0.23 microsievert per hour) can continue to be detected in areas several years after the completion of the decontamination work.

For example, in November 2020, a test around a primary school in Namie Town found that 93% of the 858 points exceeded the standard.

　　Decontamination work in forest areas is more difficult. According to the information published on the website of the Ministry of the Environment of Japan, decontamination work in forests can only be carried out from the edge of the forest land to 20 meters deep, and decontamination work cannot be carried out in deeper depths.

"It is speculated that nearly 80% of the nuclear pollutants that landed in the forest area after the accident remained in the forest. In the future, pollutants that may be released due to typhoons, heavy rain, and mountain fires will re-contaminate the decontaminated areas. The forest has become radioactive. Substance repository", experts from Japan's environmental protection group said with concern.

　　Equally difficult as forest decontamination is the removal of radioactive substances deposited on river bottoms and seabeds.

In February 2021, Japanese black scorpionfish caught in the waters of Fukushima Prefecture detected cesium five times higher than the standard, and immediately stopped the sale of the seafood.

In addition, in recent years, in some agricultural products such as wild vegetables and mushrooms produced in Fukushima Prefecture, radioactive substances that are higher than normal values ​​have also been detected, and the safety of agricultural products in Fukushima Prefecture has attracted widespread attention in Japan and abroad.

　　Although the first lifting of the evacuation order for the reconstruction base has ushered in a glimmer of light for the reconstruction of the disaster area, Fukushima Prefecture is still shrouded in the cloud of nuclear pollution, and the residents of the disaster area still have a long way to return to their hometowns.

In the future, how to complete the disposal of nuclear power plants as soon as possible, how to deal with the continuously produced nuclear-contaminated water, how to carry out decontamination work in all areas, and how to remove the haze in the hearts of residents are all difficult problems for the Japanese government.