Few villagers return to the affected area of Fukushima

FUTABA, Japan (AP) — At the first opportunity, Yasushi Hosozawa returned to his village in Futuaba after a small section of the town reopened last January, 11 years after a nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which is a short distance from the site.

It hasn't been easy.

The 7,000 inhabitants of Futaba, which houses part of the plant, had to evacuate due to radiation after an earthquake and tsunami killed or disappeared more than 18,000 people on the northeastern coast of Japan on March 11, 2011.

Only seven people have returned permanently to the locality.

“Futaba is my home. I wanted to come back since the disaster struck. I always thought about it,” said Hosozawa, 77, during an interview with The Associated Press at his home, which sits on a shed full of fishing equipment.

Next to it is an abandoned ramen place, and there are so many houses and buildings demolished around it that the neighborhood looks inhospitable.

Hosozawa, a retired plumber, had to relocate three times in the last decade. Returning to Futaba was his dream, and he waited patiently while other nearby towns reopened earlier.

To his misfortune, the water supply had not been reconnected the day he returned to town. He had to go to a friend's house in a nearby village and fill plastic containers with water.

The locality does not have clinics, shops or other commercial services for daily needs. You have to leave Futaba to buy food or to see your doctor to give you your diabetes medicine.

On a normal day, a breakfast of rice, miso soup and natto is cooked. Around noon, you drive about 10 minutes to get to Namie, a town just north of Futaba, where you buy your lunch and other groceries.

Take a walk in the evenings, but “I don't see a single soul except for the cops on patrol.” From time to time he goes to the train station, just to chat with local officials. After drinking some sake at home, he goes to bed early while listening to old songs “enka”.

He is looking forward to the arrival of the fishing season and enjoys growing vegetables in his garden.

But Hosozawa wonders if this is the best way to live his last years. “I won't live much longer, and if I have three or four more years left, I'd rather not be in a Futaba like this,” he said. “Maybe it was a mistake to return.”

“Who would like to return to a town without schools or without a doctor? I don't think young families with children want to return,” he said.

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When huge amounts of radiation escaped the plant, more than 160,000 residents throughout Fukushima had to evacuate, including some 33,000 who have not yet been able to return home.

Of the 12 nearby villages that remain totally or partially restricted areas, Futaba is the last to allow some residents to return. There are still restricted areas in seven locations where intensive decontamination is being carried out in areas scheduled to reopen in 2023.

Many residents of Futaba were forced to give up their land for the construction of a radioactive material deposit, and the uncertain landscape of Fukushima Daiichi over the next few decades due to its clean-up complicates urban planning.

Futaba Project, which helps revitalize the locality through tourism, new business and migration from outside Fukushima, sees some potential for educational tourism.

“In Futaba there are still places with scars from the disaster... and visitors can see their reality and think about the future,” said Hidehiko Yamasaki of the Futaba Project.

Hideyuki Ban, co-director of Citizens' Nuclear Information Center, says that those who have returned to the region should undergo medical examinations. He says that radiation levels are similar to those of a nuclear worker, and could cause a higher risk of cancer within the next five years.

Futaba is set to officially reopen in June a 560-hectare (1,400-acre) area near the train station, about 10% of the city, and an area that was once the commercial district and where more than half of the inhabitants lived. Visits to the village have been allowed since 2020, before the Tokyo Olympics, when train and bus services resumed, and a disaster museum was opened, which is managed by the prefecture.

Futaba has invited 24 companies, many of which are involved with cleaning up the town and plant, to start new businesses as part of a plan to revitalize local industry. A temporary town hall is scheduled to open in August and a residential complex of 86 units is being built. The town's goal is to have 2,000 residents in the next five years.

The latest polls show that only 11.3% of the 5,625 people who are still registered as residents of Futaba want to return to live there, and more than 60% have said they will not. But 66% say they want to stay connected with the people.

Local officials who will return to live in Futaba before the city council reopens will still have to find ways to improve the environment so that people want to return, said Mayor Shiro Izawa. “We can do it if we don't give up.”

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Atsuko Yamamoto, 50, runs a Penguin fast food restaurant in the food court of Futaba's community business center, but moves every day from another town in Fukushima.

“I always thought I had to do something (because of Futaba's recovery), so I raised my hand” when I saw the offer of available space in the food area, which opened two years ago, says Atsuko, who used to live in Futaba. “When I evacuated, I never imagined that I could return to Futaba like this.”

Despite his great attachment to his hometown, it is impossible for him to live there, he says. The only way to make your business work is to buy your supplies in Iwaki, the business center on the Fukushima coast where he currently resides, and then travel about 60 kilometers (40 miles) to Futaba.

His mother used to sell donuts and burgers at a stall near the train station, and it was a popular place with local students and a landmark for the people of Futaba before the disaster struck.

“As Futaba quickly transforms into an unknown place, I hope this place will help those who used to live here feel at home,” says Yamamoto. The most recognized buildings and houses are being torn down and most visitors are new faces.

“From our point of view, the buildings that remind us of our town are disappearing, like the houses where my friends used to live, and it's extremely sad,” he said as he tried to contain his tears. He says he can't help but drive around the places where those houses used to be, including his own, so as to feel pain and remember the past.

“It's hard to explain,” he says. “So I hope people come back and actually see this place.”

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Takumi Yamada, an employee at Futaba's only hotel, which reopened last May, is originally from the nearby village of Namie.

Yamada, 23, spent much of her adolescence outside Namie after rushing out of her primary school and fleeing to Saitama, near Tokyo, with her parents and two brothers.

After studying in other parts of Fukushima and Tokyo, Yamada decided to return home to reconnect and learn more about an area she barely remembered.

Yamada says she was excited about the time she worked at the hotel reception and accidentally overheard other former residents talking about the whereabouts of some mutual friends.

“It would be great if this hotel became a meeting point for those who used to live here,” Yamada said. “If there are people who keep wondering if they should return, I think it's best if they see the situation for themselves.”