The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster forced more than 80,000 Japanese residents to evacuate areas near Fukushima, turning them into nuclear refugees. The 2011 Japanese nuclear accidents that took place on March 11, 2011, resulted in three nuclear meltdowns and release of radioactive material on 12 March. After four years of the earthquake and Tsunami tragedy in the Land of the Rising Sun, local residents of Fukushima are returning to their home, and are worried soon their hometown would turn into a Ghost town.
French photographers Carlos Ayesta and Guillaume Bression spoke to few of the nuclear disaster refugees how they felt about coming home after so much of trouble and emotional turbulence. Here’s what they said about the same.
Back with family..
‘Midori Ito is in an abandoned supermarket in Namie. Here, nothing has changed since the disaster. On a panel, you can even read the words “Fresh produce” in Japanese. Just after the disaster to evacuated to Minami Aizu because of health risks associated with radioactivity. She finally returned to live with her children in the city of Koriyama, situated about 60 km from the plant.’
It isn’t easy being back to home.
‘Rieko Matsumotoest is in a laundry Namie. She is a nutritionist and counselor. “The day of the earthquake, I was working with a Philippine client who was there for his first time. I was ready to measure parts of her body, and she was about to take off her clothes when the ground started shaking. She spoke to me in Japanese up until that very moment, but when it hit, she suddenly started shouting in English.”’
Nor was it when they were forced to evacuate..
‘Shigeko Watanabe ran a small printing company in the city center of Namie. She will never reopen her business. “I personally think that decontamination is meaningless because no one will come back here anyway. Only the men say they will return but us women are stronger than them and manage to face the truth head-on. The government strongly urges us to prepare to return, but to me, the town of Namie will be destroyed.”’
More than 80% people don’t want to return..
‘Kanoko Sato is in a gymnasium of a school in the Ukedo district, destroyed by the tsunami and left like this since the disaster. “If it was not for this project, I would never have seen this forbidden zone with my own eyes. Even though I live in Koriyama and that is close enough, I did not know how badly this place was devastated until today.”‘
Everyone’s scared the town of Namie will turn into a ghost town..
‘Yasushi Ishizuka is in a Japanese playroom in Tomioka city. The building was heavily affected by the earthquake and has remained abandoned since the disaster.’
But there are people who love their motherland more than anything..
‘Setsuro Ito is a vet. He takes care of animals, especially cows living in the prohibited zone. Here, he is sitting in a bar. He left Japan to live in Brazil when he was 30 years old, but after March 11, he decided to return to his country to help farmers in the exclusion zone who decided not to slaughter their livestock. He now lives in Fukushima city.’
Shifted to Iwaki city, where the level of radioactivity is very low..
‘Katsuyuki Yashima is sitting in his own workshop. At the time of the accident, he and his wife employed 15 people. His company will not reopen, and he does not think they will go back to live in Namie even after the city reopened. “I will not go back because I can not restart my business. In 10 years, Namie will be a ghost town. According to a survey, only 20% of the inhabitants of Namie want to come back. Gradually, as the years pass, people will rebuild their lives elsewhere, and in the end, no one will return.”’
The women are stronger mentally..
‘Hidemasa and Michiko Otaki are in their old hair dresser shop in Tomioka, a town hit hard by the tsunami and evacuated following the nuclear accident. She practiced this profession for 40 years. “I had just finished a cut when the earthquake took place. After the accident, we moved from shelter to shelter, I started cutting hair for the other refugees. One day, I was talking with another refugee, and she told me that a house was free 40 km south of the plant. This is where I have lived for over 2 years now.”’
Not returning forever..
‘Kazuhiro Onuki is in his old house in Tomioka. Before the accident, he managed bookstore and also had a Japanese ceramics shop. He got robbed several times as a result of the accident, and all the valuable pieces disappeared. We wanted to photograph him in his house. This room pretty much captures the atmosphere of his abandoned house today. Kazuhiro Onuki evacuated into the Tokyo area with his wife and daughter. He regularly participates in conferences where he is invited to talk about his experience of the nuclear disaster. Even if he returns occasionally to clean his house, he will not return here to live.’
Many entertainment zones and malls are just as they were when left…
Though some of them were robbed and destroyed.
But a few people are determined to be back home..
Even though they’re scared they’ll all have to leave the town soon..
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