Fukushima Town Eases Entry Restrictions in Contaminated Areas

Fukushima, June 22 (Jiji Press)–A Fukushima Prefecture town in northeastern Japan eased entry restrictions Monday in some areas within the so-called difficult-to-return zone, heavily contaminated following the 2011 triple meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. The relaxed restrictions apply to part of the so-called specified living areas in Okuma, one of the two host towns of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s tsunami-stricken Fukushima No. 1 plant, the site of the accident. Extensive decontamination work has been carried out in the areas to enable registered residents to return to their original homes. Okuma became the second municipality, after Futaba, the other host town of the Fukushima No. 1 plant, to see entry restrictions eased in specified living areas established in six municipalities in the prefecture. The Okuma municipal government also started accepting applications for a program allowing local residents to stay overnight in the areas in preparation for the lifting of the nuclear disaster evacuation order. The program is open to 179 households evacuated from a total of about 199 hectares across five administrative districts within the roughly 570-hectare specified living areas designated in Okuma. Preparatory stays of up to three weeks can be permitted on condition that sufficient progress is made in infrastructure restoration and decontamination work. Decontamination work and other efforts have been underway in the areas since December 2023 to enable all residents who wish to return to do so by the end of the 2020s. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]