Tokyo, Mar 11 (EFE).- Fukushima commemorates this Saturday the twelfth anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated the northeast of the country and caused the nuclear crisis from which it is still recovering and reminded the nation that the problem of water discharge coming from the rugged central “affects all of Japan”.
“I know there are voices of concern not just in Japan and Fukushima, but in more places around the world. What we have been telling the central government is that this is not a Fukushima problem, but a problem for the whole of Japan,” explained the prefectural governor, Masao Uchibori, during a press conference at the Japan Foreign Press Center ( FPCJ, in English).
Twelve years after the natural disaster, which caused 15,900 deaths and 2,523 missing, Fukushima continues to face “important challenges”, including the future discharge of treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, which has generated controversy among the local population and neighboring countries.
“The recovery and reconstruction after a nuclear accident is a situation for which we had no precedents and it is very difficult. What we are asking the government to do is act responsibly and share science-based information,” added Uchibori.
The governor’s reaction comes after the Japanese government approved a revised plan in early January to dump the contaminated and treated water that accumulates at the plant into the Pacific in the coming months.
This water is currently treated in circuits called ALPS (Advanced Liquid Processing System) to remove 62 types of radioactive materials, with the exception of tritium.
Residents of the area and several Pacific countries have protested this decision, alleging that the data provided by Japan “are insufficient” in order to be able to assess the effects it will have on human health and the marine environment.
A fading memory
A decade after the disaster, the region is also concerned that the memory of it will fade after the recent announcement of a change in government policy regarding the reactivation of plants and the extension of the useful life of their reactors beyond the 60 years.
“For the last 12 years, we have been fighting against this set of disasters, but we feel that the memory of what happened has started to fade,” said Uchibori, referring to the physical effects of the earthquake and tsunami, the nuclear disaster and also the bad reputation that has been associated with the area.
In recent years, several countries such as the United States or the United Kingdom have lifted sanctions regarding the import of Fukushima products and the region is also making efforts to develop its agricultural and livestock sector.
However, more than 300 square kilometers of land in six towns in this prefecture, including Katsurao, Okuma and Futaba, are still subject to the “difficult return area” classification, and their rehabilitation remains uncertain.
In Futaba, for example, a government survey carried out last year showed that around 60.5% of former residents have no intention of returning, up from 11.3% who wanted to return.
“The use of nuclear energy and nuclear policy is something that the Government must consider at its own will, but with the lessons learned from the 2011 accident and putting the safety of people first above all else,” explained the governor.
Solving the water spill, completely dismantling the plant, revitalizing the region’s economy and attracting its former residents again are some of the challenges facing this prefecture, still marked by the stigma of what happened.
“12 years ago, the people who lived in this area had to leave their homes suddenly. Some were very old and others did not have means of transportation or relatives nearby, so they suffered great difficulties. Some 27,000 people are still displaced,” concluded Uchibori.