The fresh air of NarahaTHE stench of rot and rat excrement fills the living room of Yoshiei Igari, one of thousands of residents who fled the town of Naraha on March 12th 2011 after an earthquake and tsunami had sent the nearby Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant into meltdown. After Naraha lifted its evacuation order on September 5th he hastened back to see his former home. While the house had lain abandoned, wild boars had wrecked its ornate garden of tall, curved stones. Yet freshly picked daisies on the family altar inside the decayed interior suggest that Mr Igari may decide to return to his ancestral home.
Naraha’s opening is the first time that a whole town has been declared safe as the government gradually shrinks the evacuation zone around the plant (see map). “The clock that stopped [in 2011] has now begun to tick,” says Yukiei Matsumoto, the mayor.
The plant’s...Continue reading
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