No-go zone designation lifted for part of Namie town

I guess this is good news for the residents, but I am curious as to how many of the residents gave the confidence to believe the safety reports and return.

If they say it safe, apart from a few streets it must be safe! Why would, how could a government lie to it's own people Japan in a democratic nation that holds companies and government services accountable for actions taken. Do not tell anyone...that's the secret.

Reliable experts have said that there is no radiation problem that the level of radiation present is less that what is normally found in most parts of the USA. Being overly cautious is politically correct but devestating on the hundreds of thousands of people still being forced away from their homes which are perfectly safe. I hope people wake up to the truth and can go home.

Crickey - Why would, how could the government lie to its people?

I guess you haven't been in Japan long nor have a knowledge of recent Japanese history. Go to Wikipedia and look up Minamata to start with. Then you could try more recent history of the government covering up the severity of the 3/11 meltdown.

Pretty sure Cricky was hitting the Sarcasm button...

"Reliable experts have said that there is no radiation problem that the level of radiation present is less that what is normally found in most parts of the USA."

Maybe the parts of the USA at the Hanford nuclear site or the Nevada test site? No, the levels in the evac zone are far higher than places in the US. Your "experts" are not reliable...

Decontamination is impossible, it is just a scam more. Anyway Fukushima will continue for years to emit huge amounts of radionuclides in the air, in water and in the basement. Thousands of tons of nuclear fuel may end up in the open air at any moment causing unquenchable fire, killing thousands of people and making at least half of Japan permanently uninhabitable. This is a good news for no one. Only the mafia, doctors and undertakers will make money, but they will die too.

Yeah decontamination will be difficult. Any type of beta emitting radioactive dust in your lungs or any cesium ingested in your body will lead to cancer. The cancer will show up any number of years from now and will be hard to prove that it was because you were allowed to go home earlier.

As stable as they say the reactors are now, any major earthquake will lead to a massive release of radioactive pollution and radioactivity. The next one is the bad one.

Yeah, there's always a leftist to predict the end of the world. Fukushima is not chernobyl! People dont understand the government at the time, unnecessarily raised from level 3 to level 7. Complete nonsense. What amazes me is a criminal as kan-kan who caused the accident is still free. He is to blame for the accident fukushima. Anyway, Japan experienced a political crisis, not a nuclear crisis.

Reliable experts have said ....

If these "experts" work at Tepco or anywhere else in the Japanese nuclear industry, then they aren't "reliable." Their track record over many years speaks for itself.

To let people voluntarily go back or not go back; it's a really hard problem with no simple answers. The risk of radiation is only one aspect of the problem. We also have to consider the cost of being displaced in a culture where moving ones physical location is substantially more difficult than in the US. If you think the health effects of radiation are difficult to monitor, consider how difficult it is to monitor shortened lifespan due to a feeling of helplessness, homesickness, and a feeling of having no roots. Anyone must know such conditions lead to a statistically shorter lifespan, but can it be proven in any single case?