Japan lifts evacuation order for part of disaster-hit Fukushima town

Mar 05, 2020 | News On Japan

Mar 05, 2020 (Japan Times) - Japan on Wednesday lifted an evacuation order for parts of Futaba, one of two towns where the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is located, ahead of an Olympic torch relay in the region.

The whole of Futaba, formerly home to some 7,000 people, was designated a mandatory evacuation zone after a massive quake-triggered tsunami in 2011 hit the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, damaging the power supply and cooling system and eventually causing a meltdown.

With the lifting of the mandatory evacuation order in a northern part of the town, workers will be able to stay in the area near the main railway station.

But residents will not be able to return to the town immediately because of a shortage of running water and other infrastructure, a town official told AFP.

"We are aiming to have the return of residents starting in the spring of 2022," she said.

The move comes after organizers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics said Futaba has been added to the route for the Olympic torch relay, which begins on March 26.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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