IITATE, Fukushima Prefecture -- Autumn is normally harvest time for folks in this village, located in a major rice-producing region. But this is not a normal year and things are a little different.
IITATE, Fukushima Prefecture -- Autumn is normally harvest time for folks in this village, located in a major rice-producing region. But this is not a normal year and things are a little different.
The entire population of this village, located roughly 30-40 km to the northwest of the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, has evacuated to remain far from the radioactive fallout. And while there is no harvest to reap, five villagers, however, returned on Oct. 1 to mow grass on fallow rice paddies to help decontaminate the ground and to prevent fires.
"It would be harvest time in normal years, but we are mowing grass instead of reaping rice," bemoaned a villager who had temporarily returned.
It's autumn and the once green and exuberant weeds on the village's paddies are now mixed with "susuki" pampas grass and dead flowers. The five evacuated villagers took part in mowing grass in a community in the northwest part of the village. They pushed their way into paddies and along farming roads and cut grass using tractors and mowers.
"I am shocked to see the paddies so deserted and left to weeds," said Masayuki Saito, 65.
Kenichi Hasegawa, the 58-year-old community leader, said that the grass-mowing work will be finished on about 70 hectares of paddies in the community by mid-October.
In a decontamination plan submitted to the central government, the village government said it will do its best to decontaminate all areas of the community with the participation of its inhabitants. The village government in mid-September requested all its 20 communities do the grass-mowing work. The efforts have begun in more than half of all communities.