Eighty-three percent of Fukushima Prefecture residents are disappointed with the handling of radioactive water leaks at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, while 62 percent feel let down by decontamination efforts, a survey showed.
Eighty-three percent of Fukushima Prefecture residents are disappointed with the handling of radioactive water leaks at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, while 62 percent feel let down by decontamination efforts, a survey showed.
Although the survey showed signs that radiation fears are easing among Fukushima residents, frustration and distrust of the government and Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the nuclear plant, remain high.
Concerns are also growing in the prefecture that the rest of Japan is losing interest in the nuclear disaster that started on March 11, 2011.
Seventy-seven percent of respondents in the survey said they believe that memories of the nuclear accident have been fading and Japanese citizens have grown less interested in the victims, compared with 19 percent who feel that concerns remain high in the rest of the nation.
In a nationwide opinion poll in February, 69 percent of respondents said memories and concerns have faded, while 27 percent said they have not.
The latest telephone survey on Fukushima Prefecture residents was conducted jointly by The Asahi Shimbun and Fukushima Broadcasting Co. on March 1-2 ahead of the third anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
The survey received valid responses from 1,000 eligible voters in Fukushima Prefecture, or 54 percent of those contacted.
Only 11 percent of residents had words of praise for the central government’s overall measures to deal with the nuclear accident, down from 17 percent in an Asahi Shimbun survey taken in March last year. The ratio of residents disappointed with the government’s handling of the disaster inched up from 73 percent last year to 74 percent.
In the latest survey, residents were asked for the first time what they thought of the responses of the central government and TEPCO to the continuing leaks of radioactive water at the damaged facility.
Eight percent said they thought highly of the countermeasures, compared with 83 percent who criticized the efforts. Among respondents with children of junior high school age or younger, the disapproval rate was 90 percent, the survey showed.
Efforts by the central and local governments to decontaminate areas around the crippled nuclear plant also failed to impress residents in the prefecture.
Thirty-six percent of respondents expressed high or moderate approval of the decontamination work. However, 62 percent said the efforts do not deserve any positive words.
The central government’s long-term goal is to reduce annual radiation dose levels to 1 millisievert in residential areas affected by the nuclear disaster.
According to the survey, 63 percent of respondents believe the government should try to reach this target as soon as possible despite the expected huge costs and time needed for the endeavor. Among women between 30 and 59 years old, 70 to 80 percent said the government should accelerate its efforts.
Twenty-seven percent of respondents said there is no need to rush work related to the safety of living environments.
The government plans to store radioactive debris collected through decontamination work at intermediate facilities installed in Fukushima Prefecture. It has promised to transfer the waste out of Fukushima Prefecture within 30 years.
Only 9 percent of respondents fully or somewhat believe this promise will be kept, compared with 87 percent who partly or absolutely expect this vow to be broken, according to the survey.
Asked whether they believe the prefecture’s path for disaster recovery has been cleared, 17 percent said they do to a full or certain extent, while 82 percent said they fully or partially disagree. In the previous survey last March, 18 percent of respondents were positive while 80 percent were negative when asked that question.
Tokyo’s winning bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics also did little to provide optimism for the rebuilding of Fukushima Prefecture.
Just 12 percent of respondents believe the sports event will bolster the prefecture’s recovery. In fact, 77 percent expect preparations for the Games will put Fukushima reconstruction work on the back burner, according to the survey.
Fukushima Prefecture residents were more negative toward the Olympics in terms of recovery work than people in other regions.
Thirty-seven percent of respondents in the nationwide survey in October said the Olympics will encourage recovery work in the disaster-hit Tohoku region, compared with 46 percent who said the world’s largest sports festival will divert rebuilding efforts away from northeastern Japan.
The latest survey did show that anxieties about radiation in Fukushima Prefecture have eased somewhat.
The results showed that 67 percent of residents feel varying levels of stress about living in Fukushima Prefecture. The figure was 75 percent in March last year and 80 percent two years ago.
Those greatly or fairly anxious about radioactive substances harming themselves and their families accounted for 68 percent of the respondents, down from 76 percent in the previous year and 91 percent in a survey taken half a year after the nuclear disaster unfolded.
Optimism also appears to be rising in the prefecture about food safety.
Only 8 percent said they refuse to eat food products made in Fukushima Prefecture, while 38 percent said they are reluctant to consume the products.
Thirty percent feel slightly uncomfortable about eating Fukushima Prefecture food, while 24 percent have no problems whatsoever with the products, the survey showed.
According to the survey, 41 percent of men and 50 percent of women in the prefecture are reluctant to eat Fukushima food.
In the February nationwide survey, 40 percent of all respondents said they feel hesitant about consuming food produced in Fukushima Prefecture, compared with 59 percent who said they do not.