FUTABA, Fukushima Prefecture--In the shadow of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, about 40 people clad in protective gear attended a ceremony on March 2 marking the completion of a memorial dedicated to residents of Futaba who died in the 2011 disaster.
FUTABA, Fukushima Prefecture--In the shadow of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, about 40 people clad in protective gear attended a ceremony on March 2 marking the completion of a memorial dedicated to residents of Futaba who died in the 2011 disaster.
Bereaved family members and town officials prayed for the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, and those who died during the evacuation after the nuclear crisis unfolded.
Masashi Yoshida, who lost his wife, Kimie, 42, took part in the dedication, holding her photo.
“Two years passed by like a flash,” said Yoshida, 49, who evacuated to Iwaki in the prefecture. “I wish I could put her ashes in the grave in the town soon.”
All the residents of Futaba, which co-hosts the plant, are still not allowed to return to their homes due to high radiation levels.
The monument was installed in the town’s center, around 3 kilometers from the plant, where preparations for decommissioning the crippled reactors are under way.
Twenty people lost their lives when the towering tsunami hit. The whereabouts of one resident is unknown.
Since the town was evacuated, 164 more residents have died. Futaba had a population of about 7,000 before the disaster.