Evacuees from parts of the no-entry zone within a 20-kilometer radius of the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant will be allowed to return to their homes permanently as early as next spring.
Evacuees from parts of the no-entry zone within a 20-kilometer radius of the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant will be allowed to return to their homes permanently as early as next spring.
But residents in some other areas within the zone will be effectively prohibited from returning home for decades, according to a government plan conveyed to local government officials on Dec. 18.
The current no-entry zone and the planned evacuation zone outside a 20-kilometer radius will be scrapped on April 1, and three new zones will be set up depending on annual radiation levels at 1 meter above ground.
Areas with an annual radiation level of less than 20 millisieverts will be classified into the zone being prepared for the lifting of the evacuation order.
Goshi Hosono, minister in charge of the nuclear disaster, told The Asahi Shimbun on Dec. 18 that he believes residents will probably begin returning to the zone between next spring and early summer.
The evacuation order will be lifted in phases, depending on the restoration of infrastructure and removal of radioactive materials in areas frequented by children.
Before the evacuation order is lifted, residents will be allowed to return to their homes temporarily, and workers will be allowed to start reconstruction work.
In the areas where an annual radiation level is 50 millisieverts or more and will not fall below 20 millisieverts after five years, entry will be prohibited in principle.
Residency will be effectively banned for decades because it is expected to require more than 30 years to decommission the damaged reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 plant.
The government will consider buying or renting plots of land in the areas from landowners.
In the areas with an annual radiation level of 20 millisieverts or more and less than 50 millisieverts, it is expected to take several years before residents can start living there.
Fukushima Governor Yuhei Sato met Hosono, industry minister Yukio Edano and rebuilding minister Tatsuo Hirano in Fukushima on Dec. 18.
He asked the government to carefully take residents' opinions and local conditions into consideration in rezoning.
He also expressed displeasure with the government announcement on Dec. 16 that the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 plant has been brought under control.
"I wonder if government officials know about the situation in Fukushima Prefecture," Sato said.