More sections near nuclear plant reopen

TOKYO — Evacuation orders were lifted in small sections of a Japanese town just southwest of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant on Saturday, in time for the area’s cherry blossom season, and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida joined a ceremony to mark the reopening.

The area of about 1.5 square miles where entry restrictions were lifted is part of Tomioka town, most of which had been reopened since an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 triggered triple meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Former residents and visitors celebrated the latest reopening as they strolled along a street known as “the cherry blossoms tunnel.”

Koichi Ono, 75, was back to the neighborhood where he grew up and lived all his life until he was forced to evacuate. “After 12 years, I can finally return to my life here,” he told NHK television. “The disaster hit when I was just starting my retirement life, so I’m starting all over again.”

Ono, who learned indigo and vegetable dying while evacuating, wants to open a workshop to serve as a meeting place for people. “I hope more people come and visit.”

At the ceremony, Kishida pledged to keep working to reopen all no-go zones.

“The lifting of the evacuation is by no means a final goal, but the start of the recovery,” Kishida said.

The 2011 disaster caused massive amounts of radiation to leak from the plant, and more than 160,000 residents had to evacuate from across Fukushima, including about 30,000 who are still unable to return home.

Tomioka is one of 12 nearby towns fully or partially designated as no-go zones. The two sections in Tomioka that reopened for the first time in 12 years represent one-fifth of the worst-hit no-go zone and were chosen by the government with several other locations in the region for intensive decontamination.

But jobs, daily necessities and infrastructure remain insufficient, making it difficult for younger people to return, and families with children worry about possible radiation effects.

“The living environment and many other things still need to be sorted out,” Tomioka Mayor Ikuo Yamamoto told reporters.