Return to Fukushima

JAPAN partially lifted an evacuation order in one of the two hometowns of the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant yesterday for the first time since the 2011 disaster.

Decontamination efforts have lowered radiation levels significantly in the area about 7km southwest of the plant where three reactors had meltdowns due to the damage caused by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

The action allows people to return to about 40 percent of Okuma. The other home town, Futaba, remains off-limits, as are several other towns nearby.