Few residents start returning in Fukushima after tsunami devastation

Thursday, June 21, 2018

Seven years after a deadly tsunami devastated the Tokyo Electric Power plant, couple of tour organizers are bringing curious sightseers to the region, as residents who fled the nuclear catastrophe are starting to come back.

 
Those returning to the region hope that tourism will help resuscitate their towns and ease radiation fears.

 
However, some worry that the disaster impact will be felt far into the future. The cleanup, including the removal of melted uranium fuel, might take four decades and cost several billion U.S. dollars a year.

 
Till date, only about 700 of 21,000 people are back, which is a ratio similar to that of other ghost towns near the nuclear site.

 
Behind a new sea wall at the edge of the restricted radiation zone, Fukushima Prefecture plans to build a memorial park and 5,200-square-metre archive center with video displays and exhibits about the quake, tsunami and nuclear calamity.

 
Tokyo Electric will provide material for the archive, although the final budget for the project is yet to be finalized.

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