The central government plans to prohibit people from entering an area within a 20-kilometer radius of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, sources said.
The central government plans to prohibit people from entering an area within a 20-kilometer radius of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, sources said.
The administration of Prime Minister Naoto Kan will designate the area a "no-entry zone," where the government can legally restrict entrance into the area. The government has already issued instructions to evacuate the area.
The government was prompted partly because of a growing concern among evacuees about the security of their vacant homes following reports of looters in the area.
The government will also allow residents to go home temporarily under its supervision to retrieve necessities, valuables and other items from their homes.
The no-entry zone will enable the government to legally seal off all roads leading into the area. Those who refuse to evacuate the no-entry zone will be forcibly removed.
Shortly after the Great East Japan Earthquake, the government designated the area within a 20-km radius of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant and the area within a 10-km radius of the Fukushima No. 2 nuclear power plant as evacuation zones.
In accordance with this designation, almost all of the 70,000 to 80,000 residents in 10 municipalities in Fukushima Prefecture within the 20-kilometer radius zone relocated to other places in and outside the prefecture.
However, the evacuation instructions were not compulsory. This has led to some residents going back home to search for missing family members or look after livestock, as well as cases of looters breaking into homes.
On April 18, an official for Minami-Soma, one of the 10 municipalities, received a request from the central government to prepare for setting up the no-entry zone. On the same day, the Fukushima prefectural police department was also notified of the no-entry zone, along with permission expected to be granted for residents to go back home temporarily. Fliers have been distributed notifying residents that the area will be restricted.
Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the nuclear plants, said April 17 that the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant is expected to be under control in six to nine months. In light of the possibility of long-term restrictions imposed on the area, the government will allow residents to go home briefly, while simultaneously designating the area off-limits.
According to the Fukushima prefectural police, residents of more than 200 households still remain within the 20-km evacuation zone. Municipal government officials and Self-Defense Forces members have continued to ask them to leave.
On April 11, the central government announced its plan to designate areas outside a 20-km radius of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant as a "planned evacuation zone," where residents will be instructed to leave based on a one-month evacuation plan, and an "emergency evacuation preparation zone," where residents will be instructed to evacuate in case of emergency.
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Tetsuro Fukuyama said April 15 that only one person from each household will be allowed to enter the no-entry zone by bus to retrieve valuables, and must leave the area within one or two hours. He also said the returning residents will be accompanied by SDF members or police officers while being given protective gear and radiation dosimeters.
The prime minister plans to visit Fukushima on April 21. During his stay, Kan will visit the Fukushima prefectural government office and evacuation centers and explain in further detail the specifics of the no-entry zone.