Japan gov't to partially lift evacuation order for Fukushima plant host town 8 years after disaster

The Japanese government on Friday said a mandatory evacuation order issued in the wake of the nuclear disaster in Fukushima Prefecture will be partially lifted from next Wednesday for a town that hosts the crippled Daiichi nuclear power facility.

Former residents from the town of Okuma, previously a no-go zone due to high levels of radiation that leaked from the plant after its cooling systems were knocked out by a massive earthquake-triggered tsunami, will be allowed to return, the government said Friday.

Following the Fukushima crisis eight years ago, around 10,000 residents were forced to evacuate from Okuma, with the neighboring town of Futaba, which also hosts the nuclear plant, remaining a no-go zone.

Despite the government's decision Friday to partially lift the evacuation order, only a few of the residents who fled the areas are expected to return.

According to official statistics, as of the end of March, from a population of 10,341 people who were registered as residents of Okuma where the evacuation order is set to be lifted, only about 3.5 percent of the original population, or 367 people, are still registered as residents.

"Lifting the evacuation order is not the final goal. We will strive to restore a habitable environment for the population," Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko told a press conference on the matter.

The evacuation order is only being partially lifted, with there being no restrictions for around 38 percent of Okuma's total land area. This is due to there still being high levels of radiation in other areas that will remain off-limits.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)