The government will assist the evacuation of families in small areas outside the state-designated evacuation zone in Fukushima Prefecture due to fears they could be exposed to radiation exceeding permissible limits.
The government will assist the evacuation of families in small areas outside the state-designated evacuation zone in Fukushima Prefecture due to fears they could be exposed to radiation exceeding permissible limits.
Dozens of households in one section in Haramachi, Minami-Soma, and three sections in the Ryozen area of Date, each, will be designated for recommended evacuation and assistance.
The government's nuclear task force made the decision June 16.
Families with expectant mothers and young children are of particular concern. The government will announce as early as next week which households will be designated for recommended evacuation.
The task force chose to recommend the evacuation of individual households rather than opt for an across-the-board evacuation and restriction of industrial activities in the four locations outside the planned evacuation zone.
Annual radiation exposure in these locations could top the state safety limit of 20 millisieverts, but, according to the government, it is unlikely residents will reach the limit under normal circumstances.
These sections are outside the planned evacuation zone, which itself is outside the 20-kilometer no-go zone surrounding the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. Yearly radiation in the planned evacuation zone will likely reach 20 millisieverts.
Residents in the planned evacuation zone are required to take refuge in other places under programs crafted by the central and local governments.
People in the four locations will be provided information on the possible impact of radiation and assistance measures.
Ayako Kobayashi, 50, who lives in the mountains near Haramachi, said she is relieved.
"The government finally noticed our predicament," said Kobayashi, who lives about 2 km from the planned evacuation zone.
She was alarmed because city-conducted radioactivity readings have surpassed the state safety standard for days.
But despite her fears, Kobayashi said she couldn't move without government compensation and assistance.
"I want my two daughters to go first if officials find an evacuation place for them," she said.
Koji Kanno, a 55-year-old construction worker, lives in Ryozen, where high levels of radiation were detected.
He said his three grandchildren, aged from 1 to 5, have already left. The rest of his family, except for his 80-year-old father and 79-year-old mother, will join them late this month.
His parents will not move because "they are comfortable living in a place they are used to."
"People who decide to remain for some reason should be entitled to financial aid," Kanno said.
Date officials opposed the city being placed within the evacuation zone because the step would be compulsory and could further damage the reputation of the city's farm produce and other goods.
Date Mayor Shoji Nishida welcomed the task force's announcement.
"The government measure will allow each family to decide on its own," he said. "It's practical," he said.
Residents in nearby locations expressed hope that the government will soon designate their areas for recommended evacuation, too.
"I thought about getting out for the sake of my children, but gave up the idea because we couldn't afford it," said Nobuko Sakai, 36, who lives with her husband and four children in Nankodai, Fukushima, which neighbors Date. "If the government identifies places with high amounts of radiation, it should designate those places for recommended evacuation."
The education ministry said earlier this month accumulative radiation will reach 15 millisieverts by the end of March 2012 at a measuring station in a park just dozens of meters from Sakai's home. About 3,500 people live in the area.
Eiichi Sato, a 63 year-old company president in Iitate, a village in the planned evacuation zone and outside the 20 km no-entry zone, expressed mixed feelings about the task force decision.
Although all residents in Iitate must evacuate, the area Sato lives in is expected to have annual radiation readings of less than 20 millisieverts.
"I would like the government to take a more flexible approach to the areas where radiation levels are low," he said. "But I am afraid that I will have to comply with the village-wide evacuation."