"Please Don't Forget About Us": Five Years After Japan's Fukushima Disaster, Residents are Still Attempting to Rebuild Their Lives 

Leah Marieann Klett : Mar 15, 2016
Gospel Herald

"Many people are still leading uncomfortable lives in the affected areas. There are many who cannot return to their beloved homes because of the accident at the nuclear power plant."

(Japan)—It's been five years since north-eastern Japan was devastated by a massive earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima power plant. (Photo: via Gospel Herald)

The disaster saw the deaths of over 16,000 people [who] died in the disaster—about 6% of the population—and more than 470,000 people were displaced from their homes across the affected area. The nuclear meltdown spread a distressing shadow of radiation over a large area, contaminating food, water and homes.

Today, Highway 6, which runs along the nuclear plant, is once again open to traffic, Time Magazine reports. New houses, stores and restaurants are springing up around the area, and electricity has been restored.
 
Bloomberg notes that the vast majority of Fukushima remains livable, even though a series of towns closer to the nuclear facilities remain fenced off. About 7 percent of Fukushima prefecture is uninhabitable because of high radiation levels.

However, the region is still far from normal.
 
According to a report from the Red Cross, thousands of displaced families and elderly people are still unable to return home and are in need of support from humanitarian organizations.
 
"While many of the young have moved on in search of new opportunities, many older people have been left behind in temporary housing," said Tadateru Konoé, President of the Japanese Red Cross Society and of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). "As these temporary housing sites slowly empty, those who remain are left more vulnerable and more alone as their communities break-up. Red Cross volunteers continue to play an important role in supporting this fragile population." (Photo: via Gospel Herald)
 
Seven miles from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, buildings and cars destroyed by the March 11, 2011, tsunami still stand in the neighborhood near the former Tomioka train station.
 
The report notes that Japanese Red Cross staff and volunteers have accompanied many evacuees through the past five years, helping to develop a sense of community by bringing people together through...
 
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