The government on March 25, called on residents living within a radius of 20 to 30 kilometers of the quake-hobbled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant to voluntarily evacuate their homes.
The government on March 25, called on residents living within a radius of 20 to 30 kilometers of the quake-hobbled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant to voluntarily evacuate their homes.
Residents had previously been told to stay indoors.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano noted that a growing number of people in the area had expressed a desire to evacuate and that the area was hit by severe disruption of basic services.
“It is becoming difficult for residents to continue living in the area,” he said.
Edano said that the central government had asked the heads of the affected municipalities to cooperate on March 24.
According to Edano, residents in the area may be ordered to evacuate if the situation changes. He suggested there is still concern that radiation levels will rise.
Edano emphasized that the situation had not worsened since March 15, when residents living between 20 km and 30 km from the plant were told to stay indoors.
But the government’s decision will be taken as virtually equivalent to an evacuation order by residents and municipal officials.
The central government instructed residents living within 20 km of the plant to evacuate on March 12. On March 15, it recommended that those living within 20 to 30 km of the plant to stay indoors.
The government is likely to come under fire for indecisiveness in designating appropriate measures for areas around the plant.