Evacuation order lifted in Kawauchi

August 18, 2014

Gov't decides to lift evacuation order on Fukushima village despite residents' protests

Senior Vice Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Kazuyoshi Akaba meets residents in Kawauchi, Fukushima Prefecture, on Aug. 17, 2014. (Mainichi)

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140818p2a00m0na009000c.html

KAWAUCHI, Fukushima -- An evacuation order for the eastern part of this village that has been in place since the Fukushima nuclear disaster will be lifted on Oct. 1, government officials agreed on Aug. 17, despite residents protesting that it is too early to lift the order.

The order covers an area with 139 households where 275 people live within 20 kilometers from the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant. Also on Oct. 1, a stricter evacuation order covering 18 households where 54 people live will be lowered in severity to allow more access.

The agreement was reached by Senior Vice Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Kazuyoshi Akaba and Kawauchi Mayor Yuko Endo. Akaba is also head of the national government's local nuclear disaster-response headquarters.

At a meeting between Akaba and residents after the agreement was made, residents expressed concern about radiation levels and about the end of the emotional duress compensation. These reparations of 100,000 yen a month will end a year after the evacuation order is lifted. In opening remarks, Akaba said to the audience of around 75 local residents, "An evacuation order is a very strong restriction on residents. Now that the conditions (for lifting the evacuation order) have been met, we can no longer continue to violate the constitutionally-guaranteed rights of living and property (by not allowing residents to return)."

However, none of the residents at the meeting agreed with Akaba's argument. Over the course of a question and answer session lasting about an hour and a half, residents raised question after question, such as about the safety of food grown in the area. Government officials responded that they had stricter radiation limits in place for this food than in any other country.

Takamistu Kusano, 61, head of an administrative ward in the village, told government officials, "Many people say they cannot come back unless the whole area under evacuation order is returned to how it used to be."

The lifting of an evacuation order will be the second one, following the removal of one in the Miyakoji area in the Fukushima Prefecture city of Tamura in April this year.

The government on July 13 had suggested removing the order on July 26, but withdrew that idea after opposition from residents. This time, the decision to remove the order was made with the agreement of the village mayor after a committee of the municipal government checked the effects of radiation decontamination and advised the mayor that removal of the order was acceptable.

Since April the Kawauchi Municipal Government has allowed long-term stays in the area under evacuation order to aid preparations for residents' return, but as of this August only 55 residents, or 20 percent, were trying to use this system. Due to concerns about radiation and delays in setting up infrastructure, residents' return to the area is expected to be slow.

Second group of Fukushima residents given OK to return home in evacuation zone

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/recovery/AJ201408180038

August 18, 2014

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

KAWAUCHI, Fukushima Prefecture--Some residents of this village who lived within the 20-kilometer restricted zone surrounding the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant were told on Aug. 17 that they can soon return home, only the second time the right of return has been granted.

The lifting of the evacuation order will allow the return of 275 residents living in 139 households in the eastern area of the village of Kawauchi.

The government made the announcement during a meeting with residents of the village on Aug. 17.

In the meeting in downtown Kawauchi, Kazuyoshi Akaba, a senior vice industry minister who is also chief of the government’s task force handling the Fukushima nuclear disaster, proposed Aug. 26 and Oct. 1 for the dates of lifting the order.

"The evacuation order is forcing people (to stay out of the evacuation zones) despite the Constitution guaranteeing them the right to choose their residence," Akaba said. "If the zones are no longer life-threatening, then we must consider lifting the evacuation orders."

Though many residents opposed it, Mayor Yuko Endo accepted the government's decision.

"Nevertheless, many residents also wish to go back home,” he said. “We have no choice but to accept the decision to lift the evacuation order on Oct. 1."

Following the crisis at the nuclear power plant after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, the government established three categories of evacuation zones in Fukushima Prefecture. From highest to lowest in intensity of radiation contamination, they are the “difficult-to-return zone,” the “no-residence zone” and the “zone being prepared for the lifting of the evacuation order.”

In addition to the lifting of the evacuation order, an adjacent area with 54 residents in 18 households will also be upgraded to a zone being prepared for the lifting of the evacuation order from a no-residence zone. It is the first such case where a non-resident zone status will be upgraded.

Residents living in the Miyakoji district of the city of Tamura just north of Kawauchi, in April, were the first in the 20-kilometer restricted zone to be allowed to return to their homes.