Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2016 May 25 - 31 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Minamisoma residents feel uneasy about high radiation levels

Many Minamisoma residents, who have been forced to evacuate their residences since the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, are feeling hesitant about going back to their hometowns for fear of still-high radiation levels while the central government is planning to give them a green light to return.

The government in July will lift the evacuation directive issued to certain parts of Minamisoma City, Fukushima Prefecture. With this, 3,516 households/10,967 residents will be able to return to their homes. As a reason for the lifting, the central authorities have cited that radiation levels in the area are now less than 20mSv a year.

However, the established limit of radiation exposure under normal conditions is 1mSv per year. Compared to this normal limit, the 20mSv is extremely high. Moreover, decontamination work has been completed on only one third of the farmland in the area.

At a town meeting held on May 21, a 67-year-old woman said, “The removal of the evacuation order seems too early because the radiation level in the western part of the Odaka District is still too high. I have had my house decontaminated twice, but high radiation levels are still being detected.” Another resident said, “I want the authorities to continue the decontamination of the rest of the farmland so that I can restart my farm work.”

The Odaka District has one municipal hospital, but there is no prospect for the recovery of the function for hospital admissions. Not only that, five of seven medical clinics located in the district are still shut down, and all five dental clinics have also suspended their practices.

A resident said, “The number of medical institutions available is insufficient. The lifting of the order is only a top-down decision.” Many residents voiced their anxieties about the lack of improvements in the basic infrastructure required for daily life.

Japanese Communist Party member of the Minamisoma City Assembly Watanabe Kan’ichi said, “The important thing is whether the government can ensure the people a life of safety. In the districts where the evacuation order was already removed, problems have arisen for many residents. They faced the termination of compensation benefits and public assistance. Former Minamisoma residents can return only after they feel safe in returning.”