IWAKI, Fukushima Prefecture--The government of what became a ghost town in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster has decided to preserve signboards featuring slogans boasting a bright future from nuclear energy.
IWAKI, Fukushima Prefecture--The government of what became a ghost town in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster has decided to preserve signboards featuring slogans boasting a bright future from nuclear energy.
The decision, announced by Futaba Mayor Shiro Izawa at the town assembly operating in Iwaki on June 17, followed a campaign to keep the two pro-nuclear signboards in Futaba as a negative legacy of nuclear energy.
One sign over the main street of the town reads, “Genshiryoku--Akarui Mirai no Energy” (Nuclear power is the energy of a bright future).
The town government received a petition with 6,502 signatures calling for preservation of the signboards. The petition was led by
His homework project received an award, and the slogan became a fixture on the signboard that welcomes visitors to the center of the town.
Futaba was completely evacuated after the disaster started at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in March 2011. The plant straddles Futaba and Okuma.
Evacuees are still unable to return to their homes.
The Futaba government initially planned to remove the signboards but decided they were worth saving as a testament to the pre-disaster myth of nuclear safety.
The town is considering exhibiting the signs to the public.