Can towns near Fukushima nuclear plant recover?

It saddens me to say it, but while some may recover to some level, it is highly doubtful that many will ever fully recover and, in fact, many may be relegated to the dustbin of history.

Communities/town/cities group up organically as the result of geographic location, industry, commerce, natural resources and the like. Once established, they may continue to exist despite challenges, this ability to exist due to an inherent affinity for those living in the community to maintain it despite uphill odds in many cases.

The challenge for this area is that it has to recover from this disaster while also dealing with the challenges that face Japan more broadly, namely the rapidly ageing population and the decline of rural/regional communities. And they have to do so with many of the former residents having already made choices to get on with their lives. This particularly being true of the younger generations.

Then there is also the question of government services and infrastructure. Governments in Japan, both the national government, the prefectural governments and town/city governments are struggling with how best to streamline services to maximise dollars in servicing communities. One wonders how willing and able the government will be to actual ensure the necessary services are in place to fully support the population.

I wish I could be more optimistic, but I just see real challenges here.

And Abe wants to restart the reactors. Madness

To answer the question in the title: No.

Without being able to attract young people and children there's no way they'll survive.

What are he radiation levels and will anybody believe it I'd be skeptical.

With radiophobia I think they'll have their work cut out for them.

What are he radiation levels and will anybody believe it I'd be skeptical.

It is not just general background radiation levels. Its microscopic particles of radioactive heavy metals floating around that you really have to worry about. You don't know where they are without a geiger counter on you at all times, and even then, you won't know perfectly. You just innocently go to a park to have a picnic with your family. Has the spot you chose been contaminated with radioactive particles from the runoff of the last rain? Is it safe for your kid to climb that tree? Are you going to scan the whole thing?

If any of those particles have settled on your food you would need a scintillator to find it, and even then its usually only small samples of food put in the expensive device to determine if its been contaminated in general.

Its like living in a minefield, only you pick up the invisible mines as you go and they explode a few years later.

If any of those particles have settled on your food you would need a scintillator to find it, and even then its usually only small samples of food put in the expensive device to determine if its been contaminated in general

Because most of these very small particles are slow emitters you either get the back ground radiation (many small particles giving off radiation) or nothing at all. =You would need photographic film (or sensor) over time to catch a simple particle giving off radiation.

-> Cesium 137 has a 1/2 life of 30+ years. (you need a sensor or film that can go 30+ years to catch the particle emitted)

FiveFingerDiscount,

Its microscopic particles of radioactive heavy metals floating around that you really have to worry about.

Heavy metals are a different thing altogether: lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury. They largely come from industrial processes, coal and geothermal power plants. I think you mean radionuclides.

Has the spot you chose been contaminated with radioactive particles from the runoff of the last rain?

Or have contamination from past atmospheric nuke tests? Or uranium from local coal plants?

Its like living in a minefield, only you pick up the invisible mines as you go and they explode a few years later.

Well, the minefield has very few mines - all scientific studies have shown non-detectable increases in cancer, i.e. very low to none.

However, the radiophobia-induced stress? That's a battlefield!

JT: Can ...?

Won't know til people start buying up that cheap real estate.

Won't know til people start buying up that cheap real estate.

Given how even dilapidated house in Japan cost an arm and a leg, I doubt the prices will drop much.

Maybe they should just startup reactors much further inland and away from populous areas.

Nope! but the people will still be forced to go back home so that TEPCO can save on compensation.

Star-vikingSEP. 09, 2015 - 10:00AM JST

With radiophobia I think they'll have their work cut out for them.

< Since you were boasting about your superior academic achievements and intellect, (on the other thread) maybe you can figure out a way to make a living there. And with your vast knolege of ignoring the dangers of radiation, you should be the first JT poster to move right next to the nuclear plant. Please show us all, how safe it really is.

not without more government support and action. Or Godzilla,

Sad to ask this, but is it really worth it to rebuild? I know some groups want to go to their family home etc...but the amount of money put i to this could make really great facilities right next to a major city. Add on that the Japanese population is shrinking and you have even less reason to putmoney i to so ething that is just going to be abandoned in a generation.

I guess the town can recover in the sense that it can go back to being a place where there is lots of nuclear-related economic activity. By the sound of things, more of such activity than before, in terms of labour at least. The plants need decommissioning and the article says they are also building a huge training center.

Can the town recover to being a vibrant place where people feel happy to live and comfortable about raising their kids? That sounds very doubtful. Lots of people have left and will not return. My guess would be it'll become a place full of migrant labour. It is very sad.

This is all about saving the companies responsible for this mess money. Rather than pay the appropriate level of compensation and ensuring proper relocation these companies want these poor people to do the "dutiful" thing and go back and live there. I personally think Tepco should move all its HQ to these places and see how they like it! Oh don't forget to bring your family and relatives chums!

No. I wouldn't go back. I would cut my losses and start anew. I won't ever visit.

CLEARLY most of these places need to give up going back to the way they were, looks more & more like mostly only seniors are looking to go back, so.................. what were are looking at is throwing a LOT of GOOD(albeit newly printed $$) at places that are pretty much guaranteed to be ghost town MUCH earlier then they were already head to be!

This is the NEXT disaster that IS HAPPENING. I know decisions aren't easy but Japan needs to stop making BAD decisions, but everything points to this getting worse on all fronts, NOT better, carry on!

Unemployed drifters from all over Japan have settled in and around Iwaki-shi to get clean-up work at Fukushima Daini and with them have brought crime, from petty to the aforementioned murder. Just ask any Iwaki resident what the town is like now. The Japanese press has largely ignored the matter.

kayumochi,

the murder in question happened in Osaka. As for the reaction to the "drifters" I know of many struggling families in Tohoku whose fathers go to get well-paying work in that area to support their families.

Offering up to 100,000 yen ($800) per household for moving back. notice UP TO so it will be less then that, any way I would say, even at the high amount its still pretty low, almost insulting really!

Well, the minefield has very few mines - all scientific studies have shown non-detectable increases in cancer, i.e. very low to none.

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2015/05/fukushima-iodine-nuclear-accident

http://www.nks.org/download/nks245_e.pdf (radiation effects on iodine)

What you have here is long-lasting radioactive particles (Cesium etc) making other particles radioactive (in this case Iodine). Maybe the best definition of a "minefield" one could ask for. So yes, these radioactive particles are an issue.

It becomes a matter of statistics at this point => One death is a tragedy; one million is a statistic.