There is an area around the nuclear power plant where residents have not been allowed to live since March of 2011, due to high radiation levels.  Indeed, people are not allowed to visit there without getting a permit.   This area is comprised of small towns.  It’s a rural area.   Gradually people have been allowed to return as their areas have been deemed safe.  Some residents want to return.  Some don’t.

Here is an article from the junior high newspaper I read weekly.  I’m sorry, it’s at least a month old.  (I have been busy!)   The news is continually relevant though.

In the map in the article, the tiny black ringed circle is the location of the stricken power plant.  (Fukushima Dai Ichi Nuclear Power Plant)  If you look at the green areas, those are areas where people are allowed to return.  The blue and white areas are places where people have already returned.

In other news, recently I went to a meeting in which a researcher explained about the situation on the decommissioning of the power plant, and listened to the viewpoints of us foreign residents of Fukushima.   (He has held other groups, listening to other residents’ opinions–like students, housewives, etc.)  My husband said he is a famous researcher.

Anyhoo…..he told us that the biggest problem currently is the groundwater that is CONSTANTLY being radiated by the power plant.  When I say constantly, I mean on a daily basis.   They are attempting to rectify this problem by building ice walls.  Will this solve the problem?  Gosh, I certainly hope so.  It’s really a worrisome dilemma.   Keeping my fingers crossed…..

Something we foreigners discussed is the lack of trustworthy news about the situation.   News is either nonexistent, or (often on the internet) it’s provocative and exaggerated and often untrue.

I know people who don’t live in Fukushima frequently tell me that it’s as though Fukushima has just dropped off the radar…  Trust me, we’re still here.  The power plant’s still there.   It’s a situation that’s not going away for a LONG time.