“The Fukushima accident has shown that people cannot coexist with nuclear power. I believe the only way to preserve human life is to completely turn away from nuclear power.” —Kenzaburo Oe, Nobel Prize-winning novelist
On March 11, 2011, 2:46 p.m., it felt like the world was ending Frightened people screamed in terror. Shattered glass flew everywhere. The memories of that day are tattooed on my brain and will never be erased.
Many cities that were damaged in the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami disaster are on their way to slow recovery. One disaster area, however, may never have its place on the map again. The triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant forced the evacuation of 170,000 people. Six years later, 84,000 residents still cannot safely return to their homes in Fukushima due to the high levels of radiation. They are the forgotten ones, their stories swept under Japan’s 2020 Tokyo Olympics carpet.