Strawberries, Olympics aim to revive faith in Fukushima
IT HAS been nine years since the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred on March 11, 2011. The massive earthquake and the ensuing tsunami ravaged a number of prefectures, including Fukushima.
In March last year, Japan’s National Police Agency said the number of deaths stemming from the earthquake stood at 15,897, with 2,533 still missing.
In Fukushima prefecture alone, 1,614 people were confirmed dead and 196 missing. But what makes people remember the name of this prefecture is the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster caused by the earthquake.
The damaged reactors released radioactive isotopes into the Pacific Ocean, which is adjacent to the plant.
Though most of the affected areas in the prefecture have since been confirmed safe, the Japanese government and its citizens continue their efforts to dispel rumours that agricultural land – and by extension agricultural products – are contaminated.
“We ship only agricultural products that pass [ Japan’s] restrictive standards. But yet, when there are rumours and issues related to misinformation, some countries still have import restrictions for products from Fukushima,” said Atsushi Sato, 47, a strawberry farmer in Sukagawa city in the prefecture.
“But at the same time, I want to be less susceptible to the rumours. One of the things I have done is to start a strawberry picking business for tourists.
“This is because trying to ship organic products, as usual, will again result in biases arising from the rumours. Through this style of business, people can come and see for themselves that it’s okay,” he said.
Sato employs around 15 workers to grow strawberries and other vegetables depending on the season and makes 10 agricultural products such as ice cream, juice and dried strawberries.
His products are currently only sold in Fukushima and other prefectures.
A people movement, he said, sprung into action to combat rumours of contamination when buyers in other prefectures refused to purchase their products.
Meanwhile, the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games which are to be held between July 24 and September 6 may also help revitalise the prefecture.
Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games press relations project director Michiko Makino said the first sport of the Olympics will be the women’s softball preliminary round at Azuma Stadium in Fukushima.
“The intention is to show that Fukushima is now safe and also to express our gratitude for the great extent of the assistance we received from all over the world in the aftermath of the 2011 disaster.
“It has already been nine years since the Japan earthquake, and we have had confirmation that radiation levels in Fukushima prefecture are not different from other major cities in and outside of Japan,” said Makino.
She said workers could do their jobs on 96 per cent of the former Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant compound without the need for protective gear.
Last year, the Fukushima prefectural government said the Olympic torch relay would begin at the J-Village sports complex in Fukushima’s Naraha town on March 26.
The relay would traverse 25 municipalities in Fukushima over three days and the “torchbearers will be selected from each of the 59 municipalities that have some connection with the prefecture”, it said.