News
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25 June 2020
17 municipal assemblies in Fukushima view gov't response to polluted water disposal as "inadequate"
Amid controversy over how to dispose of growing stores of treated but tritium-contaminated radioactive water at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, 17 out of 59 municipal assemblies in Fukushima Prefecture have passed statements or resolutions so far this year, branding the central government's disposal policy as insufficient. They also oppose the proposed release of treated water into the sea and have called for stronger measures to address reputational damage stemming from the 2011 nuclear accident at the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. plant. The series of municipal assembly moves reflect their increasingly clear stance seeking to have the …
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25 June 2020
Fukushima localities speak out against dumping radioactive water in sea
Seventeen out of 59 municipal assemblies in Fukushima Prefecture have either passed a resolution or issued a statement opposing the discharge into the Pacific Ocean of treated radioactive water currently stored at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, a Fukushima Minpo survey has shown. The resolutions and statements also described measures taken by the central government as inadequate to combat reputational damage to food and fishery goods produced in Fukushima Prefecture, and the hope that local voices will be reflected in Tokyo’s decision on whether to release the tritium-tainted water into the sea. Fukushima Minpo conducted a survey of assemblies in …
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19 June 2020
Fukushima roadside post swept away by tsunami discovered on Okinawa beach
A white roadside post believed to have been swept away when a tsunami hit the Fukushima Prefecture city of Soma has been discovered on a beach in Okinawa Prefecture. Known as a “delineator,” the 1.5-meter-long metal pole topped with a …
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9 June 2020
Annual cost of 10 bil. yen eyed to operate int’l education & research hub in Fukushima
The central government is considering spending a sum to the tune of 10 billion yen per year to operate an international education and research hub planned to be built in the Hamadori coastal region in Fukushima Prefecture, officials involved in the project said on June 8. The project is part of a government blueprint for reconstruction of the prefecture hit hard by the 2011 nuclear accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s Fukushima Daiichi plant. The government sees the need to secure a long-term research budget spanning every 10-year period to develop new technologies and industries. Based on such …
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5 June 2020
Aerobatic pilot Muroya draws smiley in sky over Fukushima
Aerobatic race pilot Yoshihide Muroya, who lives in Fukushima city, flew his small propeller-driven plane over the cities of Fukushima, Nihonmatsu, Koriyama, Sukagawa and Aizuwakamatsu, and elsewhere in Fukushima Prefecture on June 4, drawing a “smiley face” in the blue …
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31 May 2020
Quake memorial museum opens in Iwaki to help foster mindset of remembrance
A municipal museum opened in the Fukushima Prefecture city of Iwaki on May 30 to hand down memories and lessons from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami and ensuing nuclear accident. Dubbed the "Iwaki 3.11 Memorial and Revitalisation Museum," …
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24 May 2020
Pandemic forces Fukushima's Hope Tourism program to go digital
[Translated by the Japan Times]As with many tourism programs worldwide, COVID-19 is impeding the Hope Tourism project that covers areas affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant meltdowns. Those involved with the …
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19 May 2020
Entry to Oze park from Fukushima temporarily banned on coronavirus fears
The Fukushima Prefecture village of Hinoemata has extended a voluntary ban on the use of local facilities and services until June 30 to fend off the coronavirus epidemic, effectively shutting down local access to Oze National Park, which straddles four prefectures. According to the Oze-Hinoemata Tourism Association, the Miike parking lot, a gateway to sightseeing spots in the park such as the Ozenuma pond and Ozegahara marshland, will remain closed and the shuttle bus service between Miike and the Numayama pass will likely be suspended, preventing entry to the Oze area from the Fukushima side during the period. Initially, the …
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17 May 2020
Fukushima farmers launch online blitz for produce hit by coronavirus epidemic
The Fukushima Prefectural Headquarters of the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives (Zen-Noh) has embarked on a project to develop new sales channels based on the internet to promote the consumption of local agricultural and livestock products that have seen a slump in demand mainly due to consumers being discouraged from dining out amid the coronavirus epidemic. One idea broached is the creation of new menus using prefectural produce by seeking cooperation from cooking researchers and other people active in the Tokyo metropolitan region. It calls for these recipes and charms of Fukushima produce to be conveyed to consumers through a …
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10 May 2020
U.S.-grown rice brewed into sake in Fukushima
Rice harvested at a Japanese-founded farm in the U.S. state of California has been turned into sake by a brewery in the Fukushima Prefecture city of Nihonmatsu. The late Keisaburo Koda, the pioneering farmer hailing from Ogawa-machi in the city …
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20 April 2020
J-Village exec says event resumption not in sight as it greets 1st anniversary of full reopening
The J-Village sports complex greeted the first anniversary of its full reopening on April 20 after it was closed following the 2011 nuclear accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s Fukushima Daiichi plant caused by a devastating earthquake and …
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13 April 2020
9 YEARS SINCE DISASTER: Ukedo wholesale market reopens, raising hopes for fisheries revival in Namie
The regional seafood wholesale market at Ukedo fishing port in the Fukushima Prefecture town of Namie, crippled by the 2011 earthquake and ensuing tsunami, was reopened on April 8, resuming auctions for the first time in nine years. Since the …