Fukushima News_Mayor in Fukushima city calls on gov't to pour 'all effort' into resolving nuke crisis

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Mayor in Fukushima city calls on gov't to pour 'all effort' into resolving nuke crisis
April 09, 2011 Company


Minami-Soma Mayor Katsunobu Sakurai (Mainichi)

Katsunobu Sakurai, mayor of the Fukushima Prefecture city of Minami-Soma, said in an interview with the Mainichi that he wants the central government to pour all its effort into resolving the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant.

Sakurai said some 50,000 people have evacuated the city over the crisis sparked by the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, which struck the plant's cooling systems.

"Before the disaster, the population stood at around 70,000, but at the lowest point, I think it dropped to below 20,000. Since then, businesses and stores have been reopening, and the number of people returning to their homes is increasing. I think the population has now recovered to between 25,000 and 30,000 people," he said.

At the same time, Sakurai says the town's financial infrastructure has not yet been restored.

"All that are open are local banks and credit unions. The supermarkets are still not running. There are no daily supplies to support the lives of residents," he said.

Sakurai said the central government and Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the nuclear power plant, were not providing enough information.

"The media also refrained from reporting in the area, and it has been hard to get the word out about the actual local conditions," he said. "We accordingly put up a video on the video-sharing site YouTube telling the world about our difficult situation."

The mayor called for people who had evacuated the city to remain where they were for the time being.

"In these circumstances, when there are no immediate prospects of resolving the nuclear power plant accident, we want people to remain in the areas to which they have evacuated, even if their freedom is restricted in those areas. The number of parents who want to have their children go to school locally is rising, but the wellbeing of children takes priority, so we ask that evacuated children go to school in the areas where they are now," he said.

Sakurai pointed out that some areas of the city were within a 20-kilometer radius of the plant subject to an evacuation order, while others were in the zone between 20 and 30 kilometers away from the plant, where remaining residents have been ordered to stay indoors.

"If there were a government measure allowing residents to go outside to a certain extent, I think it would encourage them," Sakurai said.

"If the city doesn't properly maintain its functions, then evacuated residents won't know which way to turn," he said. "I want the government to pour all its effort into resolving the nuclear accident and provide us with an outlook for when the situation will be resolved."

Click here for the original Japanese story

(Mainichi Japan) April 9, 2011