Museum on nuclear accident opens in Fukushima

The Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum is located in Futaba Town, where an evacuation advisory was partially lifted in March.

Futaba is one of the host towns of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant—the site of one of the world’s worst nuclear accidents.

Three of the plant’s reactors melted down following a massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.

The prefectural museum has large screens showing what the communities looked like in the wake of the accident, and how the residents evacuated.

About 150 items and videos are on display, highlighting the initial confusion, decontamination efforts, and prolonged impact of the accident.

One of the items is a whiteboard scribbled with words and numbers as officials frantically dealt with the unfolding disaster at a government base near the plant.

Local people will also be stationed at the museum to share their experiences.

The opening was originally planned for July to coincide with the Tokyo Olympics, which symbolize the recovery from the 2011 disaster. But it was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Olympics were also postponed by one year.