Beyond Nuclear International Weekly Digest, MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2025

Posted: 10th March 2025

Life has become frozen in time in some of the “Difficult-to-Return” zones evacuated during the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, writes Riuko Muto. Meanwhile, Tepco again escapes blame. Fourteen years later, the situation is far from under control, yet government leaders refuse to acknowledge this while thousands who evacuated remain displaced, writes Akiko Morimatsu, herself a Fukushima-caused refugee.

Few have returned to areas radioactively contaminated by the Fukushima nuclear disaster. As buildings are demolished, centuries of history are torn town, writes Riuko Moto, while in other areas an eerie silence reigns. Meanwhile the Japanese government is once more prioritizing nuclear power, an industry whose 2011 disaster has cost hundreds of billions of yen. And right before the anniversary, Japan’s Supreme Court once again exonerates Tepco executives from blame. MORE

Those who fled remain displaced

Many more people than registered were compelled to flee the Fukushima disaster and are still in distress with no relief and without being officially recognized as evacuees. Meanwhile, the accident is far from over as the crippled power plant continues to contaminate the oceans, air and land, writes Akiko Morimatsu, who moved away to Osaka with her children to protect them, while her husband stayed behind. MORE

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