Evacuation order lifted by Gov't

September 12, 2014

Villagers near Fukushima allowed to return

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/nuclear.html

Sep. 12, 2014 - Updated 07:51 UTC+2

The Japanese government has decided to lift an evacuation order for part of a village near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and all of his Cabinet Ministers reached the decision at a meeting on Friday in Tokyo.

Abe said this is not the final goal, but rather the starting point for the area's reconstruction. He added that the government will actively help the former residents return to the village.

Radiation contamination had forced all the villagers to evacuate following the nuclear accident at the plant in March 2011.