Fukushima N-Plant Host Town to Be Out of Evacuation Zone

Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Pref., March 26 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government said Tuesday it plans to lift its evacuation order for part of the town of Okuma in Fukushima Prefecture, home to the disaster-crippled nuclear power plant, on April 10. The central government put forward the plan and the town accepted it. The government's Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters will officially decide on the lifting of the order, issued due to radiation concerns. Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s <9501> Fukushima No. 1 plant, which caused the country's worst-ever nuclear accident following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan, straddles the towns of Okuma and Futaba. It will be the first time for any part of the two towns to see an evacuation order lifted. Yoshihiko Isozaki, state minister of economy, trade and industry, visited Okuma Mayor Toshitsuna Watanabe at the town's temporary office in the city of Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima, northeastern Japan, to convey the proposal to lift the evacuation order. "Environmental radioactivity has fallen to levels low enough to meet the requirement for the evacuation order lifting," Isozaki told a press conference. "The government will work steadily for staged order liftings in the future." Watanabe expressed his pleasure at the government's proposal as the town had been seeking the order's early lifting. "After eight years, we can finally take the first step," the town mayor said. In Okuma, the evacuation order will be lifted for the Ogawara district, where residence has been restricted, and the Chuyashiki district, where residents have been asked to prepare for the order lifting. The two districts make up about 40 pct of the total town area. As of the end of last month, 367 people of 138 households, or some 3.5 pct of Okuma's population, were registered as residents of the two districts. Due to the nuclear accident, all Okuma residents totaling around 11,500 have been evacuated outside the town. A program to allow Okuma residents to stay overnight at their homes to prepare for their return to the town started in April last year. As of March 4, 48 people of 21 households were registered for participating in the program. The town administration functions are planned to be moved from the temporary office in Aizuwakamatsu to a new office in the Ogawara district in Okuma on May 7. END