FUKUSHIMA -- The government on Wednesday lifted an evacuation order for parts of Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture, which is home to the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant run by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc.
This is the first time that any part of Futaba has been released from an evacuation order since the 2011 nuclear crisis. It also represents the first lifting of such an order for a difficult-to-return zone.
A barricade blocking passage was removed Wednesday at an intersection on National Highway Route 6, which is located on the east side of JR Futaba Station, A municipal government liaison office has also been set up to lend dosimeters to residents who temporarily return to the town and provide other assistance.
"I'm full of emotion, but we're only standing on the starting line of reconstruction now, " Futaba Mayor Shiro Izawa said during an opening ceremony for the liaison office. "I'll do everything I can to make it possible for people to start living [in the town]."
People are now allowed to enter without special permission an area designated by the central government as a "specified reconstruction and revitalization base," where efforts are underway to allow residents to return. The municipal government intends to make arrangements for the return of Futaba residents.
The evacuation order was lifted in an area of about 20 hectares around JR Futaba Station on the Joban Line, railway tracks and roads, which are within the difficult-to-return zone, as well as the town's northeastern area of about 220 hectares, which is designated as a "zone in preparation for lifting the evacuation order."
The partial lifting of the evacuation order on Wednesday does not allow residents to live in the town. Restrictions on the areas where Futuaba is aiming to have residents return to live are expected to be removed in the spring of 2022.
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