Elementary school reopens in Miyakoji

April 7, 2014

Elementary school welcomes back students after lifting of evacuation order

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/recovery/AJ201404070059 

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

TAMURA, Fukushima Prefecture--Days after an evacuation order was lifted for the first time around the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, students attended the entrance ceremony of an elementary school that reopened here on April 7.

In the morning, new students enrolled at Furumichi Elementary School were welcomed by warm applause and many local residents, who were waiting near the school's front gate and holding a large banner reading, “Welcome back, Miyakoji.”

The elementary school’s students have studied at a temporary campus in the central part of the city of Tamura, since the nuclear crisis triggered by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.

But the central government on April 1 lifted the evacuation order for Tamura's Miyakoji district, which is located within a 20-kilometer radius of the Fukushima No. 1 plant, and the Tamura city government decided to hold an entrance ceremony for the first time in four years at the school.

This fiscal year, the city reopened another elementary school and a junior high school in the district as well.

Of the 151 students at Furumichi Elementary School, 91 who are not living in their original homes are expected to commute to school from where they are currently residing via school buses.

(This article was written by Takuro Negishi and Naoyuki Takahashi.)

April 7, 2014

Fukushima school reopens

 

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140407_17.html 

An elementary school has reopened in its original location near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. This comes after the government lifted its evacuation order for the area.

The school in the Miyakoji district of Tamura City held a ceremony on Monday to welcome new students.

Following the 2011 nuclear accident, the school had held classes in a temporary building about 20 kilometers away. But the government lifted its evacuation order for part of its school zone last Tuesday after the area was decontaminated.

During the ceremony, about 60 students, parents and local residents applauded when four 1st graders entered.
The school principal called on the new students to enjoy their school life. He advised their parents to consult teachers and school officials if they have any problems or concerns as their children grow up in the area.

School officials say the number of children enrolled at their school has dropped to two-thirds of the level before the nuclear accident. The school's return to its original location saw some students move to other schools near where they now live.

60 percent of the school's students will spend about an hour travelling to school by bus, as their families continue to live outside the Miyakoji district.

Apr. 7, 2014 - Updated 04:20 UTC