Local communities have been stunned by a ruling party executive's suggestion that the government should clearly define areas where evacuees severely impacted by the Fukushima nuclear disaster can never return, as debate begins over the heretofore taboo issue.
Local communities have been stunned by a ruling party executive's suggestion that the government should clearly define areas where evacuees severely impacted by the Fukushima nuclear disaster can never return, as debate begins over the heretofore taboo issue.
Mayors of communities from around the devastated Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant have mixed reactions to the remark Shigeru Ishiba, secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, made during a speech in Sapporo on Nov. 2.
"The time will come when someone must say, 'You cannot live here anymore, but we will make up for it,' " Ishiba said, in calling for a reversal of the government's stated goal of eventually having all evacuees return to their homes.
This review of the policy could bring the government under intense fire for deciding to abandon evacuated communities due to high levels of contamination with radioactive materials.
The administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is therefore expected to weigh opinions in the affected communities and discussions within the ruling coalition before proceeding.
Ishiba put out his first feelers three days earlier before making his remark.
Tadamori Oshima, chairman of the LDP headquarters for accelerating Fukushima reconstruction, on Oct. 30 submitted a draft proposal to the party's executives ahead of finalizing the proposal.
Ishiba said on that occasion that evacuees should be given explanations, including on the prospects of their eventual return to their homes. "Communication about the risks (to evacuees) is essential," Ishiba told Oshima.
The government's basic stance is to seek the return of all those who wish to return, in the words of a senior Reconstruction Agency official. But many within the government believe that goal is unrealistic.
"Pragmatically speaking, return will remain impossible over the foreseeable future," one government source said, tacitly referring to the areas designated "difficult-to-return zones." The 25,000 or so residents from areas under that designation, where annual radiation doses exceed 50 millisieverts, will not be allowed to return for at least five years from March 2012.
While Ishiba had not gotten consent for his taboo-breaking remark from Abe or Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, it was simply a question of who would be the first to say it in public, an Abe aide said.
But many in the government and ruling parties have hesitated to express it for fear of stirring backlash from disaster survivors.
"It's not for the government to say such-and-such areas are uninhabitable," one Cabinet minister said.
The LDP's proposal also maintains, at least on the surface, that the return of all residents to their homes should be sought.
"It's too early to suggest some may not be able to return," said an LDP lawmaker from Fukushima Prefecture.
Abe is expected to soon receive the LDP proposal and prompt government discussions on ways to accelerate rebuilding efforts. The government hopes to use debate within the ruling parties as a catalyst for discussions and then proceed to hear feedback from the affected communities.
"Some will decide they would rather continue to live where they have evacuated than return," one senior government official said. "That sort of decision is better left in the hands of local communities."
The government discussions would have to cover a broad array of subjects, including target areas, time frames and specific assistance measures, making it difficult to tell when there will be a conclusion.
Municipalities in Fukushima Prefecture where large landmasses have been designated as difficult-to-return zones could see their very existence endangered.
Futaba Mayor Shiro Izawa, unhappy with Ishiba's remark, insisted on his residents being allowed to return. Designated difficult-to-return zones in Futaba, which co-hosts the stricken nuclear plant, were home to 96 percent of the town's population.
"We have to envisage the return of the next generation, even if we were not able to return," Izawa said. "Even if an area were to be declared uninhabitable, I would want to know how long it will remain so."
Koichi Miyamoto, mayor of Tomioka, said he has "mixed feelings" about Ishiba's remark.
All the town's 16,000 residents have been evacuated elsewhere, including outside Fukushima Prefecture. Thirty percent of them lived in what have since been designated as difficult-to-return zones.
"I have been pinning my faint hopes on the return of the entire town, but that remains up in the air," Miyamoto said. "It is so heart-wrenching, but reality sobers me up."
Redesignations of evacuation zones, completed in August, did nothing to alleviate the suffering of evacuees living in cramped temporary housing and families forced to live apart. Miyamoto said he is often told by angry evacuees, "If we cannot return, just say so."
The biggest concern for Tamotsu Baba, mayor of Namie, is the ability of the government and ruling parties to cope with the situation. Eighty percent of the town's landmass is delineated as difficult-to-return zones.
"A secretary-general suddenly blurts out that some evacuees may not be able to return," Baba said. "I doubt residents will be given proper explanations."
Iitate Mayor Norio Kanno said he is opposed to moves that could turn all of the difficult-to-return zones into "never-to-return" zones.
"Some want to return to their homes in difficult-to-return zones, while others have not returned to areas with lower radiation levels," Kanno said. "No simple line can be drawn."