Fukushima red apples a success

December 11, 2013 

Fukushima 'kizuna' kanji apples prove a big local hit

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/recovery/AJ201312110008

By YOSUKE FUKUDOME/ Staff Writer

FUKUSHIMA--Hisaichi Abe is a fruit grower in Fukushima who saw shipments of his Fuji apples drastically reduced after the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

Although his harvests routinely passed tests showing they contained no radioactive materials, the shipments of Abe's apples were halved immediately after the onset of the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

Now, the 76-year-old Abe has seen an increase in his shipments, thanks to Fuji apples emblazoned with the kanji character “kizuna” (bond) on the outside of their skin.

The requests for the kizuna apples came from organizations in such municipalities as Minami-Soma in Fukushima Prefecture and Miyako in Iwate Prefecture, which plan to distribute them free of charge at events. Abe said he plans to ship a total of about 1,500 of the apples this season.

To make the kizuna apples, Abe pastes a film on each individual apple in the shape of the kanji character. The film blocks sunlight, preventing the apple's skin underneath from turning red as the fruit ripens. When the film is peeled away before shipment, the kizuna kanji stands out in yellow on the red apple.

Thanks to the popularity of the kizuna apples, Abe's shipments have recovered this year to pre-quake levels.