Thousands of Fukushima evacuees face hardship

TOKYO: Nearly six years after Noriko Matsumoto and her children fled Japan’s Fukushima region, fearing for their health after the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, they confront a new potential hardship - the slashing of vital housing subsidies.

Matsumoto is among nearly 27,000 people who left areas not designated as mandatory evacuation zones, spooked by high levels of radiation after nuclear meltdowns unleashed by a powerful earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011.

Now, as the Fukushima local government prepares to slash unconditional housing assistance on March 31, many face the painful choice of returning to areas they still fear are unsafe, or reconciling to financial hardship, especially families scattered across different sites, such as Matsumoto’s.

“Because both the national and the local governments say we evacuated ‘ selfishly,’ we’re being abandoned - they say it’s our own responsibility,” Matsumoto, 55, told a news conference, her voice trembling.

“I feel deep anger at their throwing us away.”

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a local official said that although unconditional subsidies end on March 31, smaller amounts of aid will still be provided, if needed.