Abstract
JOURNAL OF ASIAN ARCHITECTURE AND BUILDING ENGINEERING 2021, VOL. 20, NO. 1, 101–113 https://doi.org/10.1080/13467581.2020.1780242 URBAN PLANNING AND DESIGN Current status and issues of Fukushima nuclear disaster areas and victims after lifting of evacuation orders: a case study of Namie Town Kota Kawasaki Faculty of Symbiotic Systems Science, Fukushima University, Fukushima, Japan ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY Received 15 March 2019 The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident caused by the Great East Japan Accepted 29 May 2020 Earthquake of March 11, 2011 resulted in serious radiation damage in Fukushima Prefecture. Although evacuation orders were enforced in 11 municipalities, they were lifted by April 1, KEYWORDS 2017 with the exception of “difficult-to-return zone” in 9 of them. This study aims to analyze Nuclear disaster; Fukushima population and household trends, restoration situation of the living environment, and living Nuclear Accident; lifting of conditions of residents in the town center of Namie Town as of September 2018, that is, evacuation orders; retuning approximately one and a half years after evacuation orders caused by the Fukushima Daiichi home; revitalization Nuclear Power Plant Accident were lifted, based on the official judgement that the living environment had been restored since decontamination and restoration of infrastructure were completed. This study clarifies that the living environment has not been restored to the extent that most disaster victims are able to choose returning, and that returnees are still disaster victims in that they are living in the environment with hardship. This study concludes that it is necessary to shift to Fukushima revitalization policies based on the actual conditions of disaster victims and affected areas. 1. Introduction number of registered residents is 49,090 and the num- ber of residents actually living in areas where evacua- The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident tion orders were lifted is 10,102. Although the number (hereinafter referred to as “Fukushima Nuclear of residents in areas where evacuation orders were Accident”) caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake lifted has nearly doubled compared to one year ago, of 11 March 2011 resulted in serious radiation damage the number of residents is only 21% of the number of in Fukushima Prefecture.Evacuation orders were registered residents. Especially, in Namie Town and enforced in 11 municipalities located in the vicinity of Tomioka Town where evacuation orders were lifted Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, that is, recently, the number is less than 10%. Okuma Town, Futaba Town, Tomioka Town, Namie Namie Town, the object of this study, was the town Town, Kawauchi Village, Naraha Town, Katsurao with the largest population (21,434 people) and num- Village, Iitate Village, Tamura City, Minamisoma City ber of households (7,671 households) among 8 muni- and Kawamata Town, and residents were forced to cipalities of Futaba County (Hirono Town, Naraha evacuate for a long period. In these 11 municipalities, Town, Tomioka Town, Kawauchi Village, Okuma with the exception of “difficult-to-return zone” in 9 of Town, Futaba Town, Namie Town and Katsurao them (all except Futaba Town and Okuma Town), eva- Village) before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident. cuation orders were lifted by 1 April 2017 after decon- Namie Town Office has been redeveloping the town tamination of radioactive materials and restoration of center (approximately 180 ha) as the reconstruction infrastructure were implemented (Figure 1). As a result, promotion area to encourage the return of residents the number of refugees from areas under evacuation and to support the lives of returnees based on the orders became about 24,000 (about 1% of the popula- reconstruction plan. Although evacuation orders were tion of Fukushima Prefecture) and the area under eva- lifted on 31 March 2017 in Namie Town, Kawasaki cuation orders became about 370 km (about 3% of (2018) showed that six months later the living environ- the area of Fukushima Prefecture). ment still had not been restored enough to make Although the fact that evacuation orders were lifted many disaster victims choose to return home, and means that residents can safely live in these areas, most that returnees were still disaster victims in that they residents do not return to their homes. Table 1 shows lived in the environment with hardship. Furthermore, it the population trends in areas where evacuation orders pointed out the “2020 problems”, that is, the problems were lifted. Overall, as of July 31 or 1 August 2018, the caused by the Fukushima revitalization policies which CONTACT Kota Kawasaki kawasaki@sss.fukushima-u.ac.jp Fukushima University, Fukushima City 960-1296, Japan “The number of residents living in areas where evacuation orders were lifted” includes some residents who are not registered. © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group on behalf of the Architectural Institute of Japan, Architectural Institute of Korea and Architectural Society of China. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 102 K. KAWASAKI Figure 1. Current status of nuclear evacuation zones as of April 2017. Table 1. Population trends in areas where evacuation orders were lifted. 2017 2018 Number of Number of residents living in Number of Number of residents living in registered areas where evacuation orders registered areas where evacuation orders Note: Date evacuation residents were lifted residents were lifted orders were lifted TOTAL 50,628 5,920 49,090 10,102 － Tamura City 303 241 283 227 1 April 2014 Minamisoma City 9,706 2,444 9,036 3,338 12 July 2016 Kawamata Town 969 213 906 320 31 March 2017 Naraha Town 7,178 1,774 6,966 3,404 5 September 2015 Tomioka Town 9,415 215 9,407 738 1 April 2017 Kawauchi Village 304 87 293 86 1 October 2014 and 14 June 2016 Okuma Town 384 0 377 0 not yet Futaba Town 233 0 234 0 not yet Namie Town 15,067 286 14,769 805 31 March 2017 Katsurao Village 1,347 194 1,316 309 12 June 2016 Iitate Village 5,722 466 5,503 875 31 March 2017 The number of registered residents and the number of residents living in areas where evacuation orders were lifted are as of July 31 or August 1 of 2017 or The number of residents living in areas where evacuation orders were lifted includes some residents who are not registered. Source: FUKUSHIMA-MINPO (morning newspaper on 11 September 2018). have been implemented to create the image that the FY 2020, were becoming evident even though liveli- national government achieved revitalization of hood rehabilitation of disaster victims and restoration Fukushima from the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster by of affected areas have not been achieved. JOURNAL OF ASIAN ARCHITECTURE AND BUILDING ENGINEERING 103 This study aims to analyze population and household literature research were conducted. Field survey and trends, restoration situation of the living environment, resident interview survey were conducted for two and living conditions of residents in the town center of years from 2017 to 2018 continuously. Field survey con- Namie Town as of September 2018, that is, approxi- cerning land use and resident questionnaire survey were mately one and a half years after evacuation orders conducted from September 5 to 6, 2018. It is about were lifted, as a continuation of Kawasaki (2018). In one year after the survey of Kawasaki (2018) from addition to Kawasaki (2018), there are some studies September 25 to 26, 2017. Although, in some cases, it that analyze current status and problems of areas was difficult to identify “residents” because some people where evacuation orders were lifted. For example, Lee travelled between Namie Town and evacuation destina- and Kubota (2016) discuss current status and issues of tions, the survey targets were confirmed by conducting resurgence of secondary and tertiary industry in Odaka interview survey with them and with Namie Town Office. Ward of Minamisoma City. Hagiwara, Ota, and Kubota In Chapter 5, living conditions of residents are ana- (2018) clarify actual conditions of house maintenance lyzed based mainly on resident questionnaire survey. and rebuilding in Odaka Ward of Minamisoma City. The object of the analysis is limited to residents with Niizuma and Kubota (2018) analyze change of land use household members who lived in Namie Town before in Odaka Ward of Minamisoma City. Unlike these studies, the Fukushima Nuclear Accident in order to clarify the significance of this study lies in its discussion of both changes of living conditions before and after the the restoration situation of the living environment and Fukushima Nuclear Accident and to exclude temporary the living conditions of residents integrally. residents such as reactors demolition-related workers. 2. Methods 3. Population and household trends In this study, as with Kawasaki (2018), field survey, resi- In March 2011, the number of households living in the dent interview survey, resident questionnaire survey and town center of Namie Town was 1,429, but as of Table 2. Population and household trends of Namie Town. Namie Town Town Center 11 March 2011 Population 21,434 3,468 Households 7,671 1,429 30 September 2017 Population 18,102 3,070 Areas where evacuation orders were lifted 381 No data Percentage 2% No data Households 6,923 1,332 Areas where evacuation orders were lifted 267 42 Percentage 4% 3% 30 September 2018 Population 17,736 2,737 Areas where evacuation orders were lifted 848 No data Percentage 5% No data Households 6,899 1,197 Areas where evacuation orders were lifted 554 105 Percentage 8% 9% Population and households as of March 11, 30 September 2011, 2017 and 30 September 2018 are based on resident registration. However, population and households in areas where evacuation orders were lifted as of 30 September 2017 and 30 September 2018 are based on data aggregated by Namie Town Office, and population and households in town center are based on field survey conducted from September 25 to 26, 2017 and from September 5 to 6, 2018. Temporary residents such asreactor demolition-related workers are not included in households in town center as of 30 September 2018. Table 3. Household trends in the town center of Namie Town. unit: household a b b March 2017 * September 2017 * September 2018 * Including temporary residents (workers) TOTAL 1,429 42 105 225 Detached house 27 76 75 Apartment house 13 22 22 Dormitory for workers No data 0 120 House combined with store 2 6 6 House combined with office 0 1 2 Households as of March 2011 are based on resident registration. Households as of September 2017 and September 2018 are based on field survey, resident interview survey and resident questionnaire survey. 104 K. KAWASAKI September 2018, it had decreased to 105 (7% of the Agency, Fukushima Prefectural Government and Namie .2 4 March 2011 number) (Tables 2 and 3) However, it Town 2018). Since restoration of the living environ- doubled in one year from September 2017 to ment is stipulated as one of the requirements for the September 2018, and this is due to removal of emergency lifting of evacuation orders (The Nuclear Emergency 3 5 temporary housing, etc. Response Headquarters 2011), there is a gap between The above is the residential situation of permanent the recognition of the government that lifted the eva- residents. Recently, in the town center, dormitories for cuation orders and the recognition of residents. temporary residents such as reactors demolition-related In the following sections, the restoration situation of workers, buildings demolition-related workers or decon- the living environment is analyzed from four perspectives: tamination-related workers are rapidly increasing. The housing, commercial facilities, medical and nursing care number of households of workers living in dormitories is facilities, and public transportation. 120, and it is larger than the number of other residents. The number of residents in the town center is 225 4.1. Housing households if these workers are included. The land use situation in the town center has changed considerably from before the Fukushima Nuclear 4. Restoration situation of the living Accident (Table 4, Figure 2). The biggest change is nega- environment tive, that is, the increase of vacant buildings and the According to the “Namie Town resident questionnaire increase of vacant lots resulting from demolition of vacant survey” conducted by the Reconstruction Agency, buildings. Fukushima Prefectural Government, and Namie Town Before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident, 1,439 build- in December 2017, returnees and residents who plan to ings existed in the town center, of which houses return to Namie Town think that there are big problems, accounted for 73% at 1,057 buildings. These buildings such as housing, commercial facilities, medical and nur- all became vacant buildings after evacuation orders sing care facilities, and public transportation in the liv- were issued. Although evacuation orders were lifted in ing environment of Namie Town (The Reconstruction March 2017, 78% of these buildings remained vacant as of Table 4. Land use trends. unit: building Change Before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident (a) September 2017 (b) September 2018 (c) (c)-(a) (c)-(b) TOTAL 1,439 1,310 1,123 −316 −187 Detached house 970 27 76 −894 49 Apartment house 87 5 5 −82 0 Dormitory for workers 5 21 - 16 Store 294 21 32 −256 11 House combined with store 2 6 4 Office 55 6 22 −32 16 House combined with office 0 1 1 Factory 7 1 1 −6 0 Warehouse 3 0 0 −3 0 Public facility 23 6 13 −10 7 Vacant building 1,192 880 - −312 Building under demolition 45 66 - - Since the data of “Before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident” is based on “Housing map in 2010”, field survey and resident interview survey, there is a possibility that “Dormitory for workers”, “Vacant building” and “Buiding under demolition” were included in other use categories. The data of “September 2017” and “September 2018” is based on field survey. In Namie Town, as for the area, the former “restricted residence zone” was 10%, the former “zone in preparation for the lifting of the evacuation orders” was 9%, and the “difficult-to-return zone” where evacuation orders are still issued is 81%. As for population before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident, the former “restricted residence zone” had 42%, the former “zone in preparation for the lifting of the evacuation orders” had 41%, and the “difficult-to-return zone” had 17%. The provision of emergency temporary housing has been postponed until the end of March 2020. As for residents’ intention to return to Namie Town, “I have already returned to Namie Town” is 3%, “I will return to Namie Town soon or I will return to Namie Town sooner or later” is 14%, “I still cannot judge” is 32%, “I decided not to return” is 49% and no answer is 2%. As for the conditions that residents who answered “I have already returned to Namie Town” think need to be improved in Namie Town in the future, “Reopening or development of commercial facilities” is 84%, “Development of medical facilities” is 79% and “Reopening or development of nursing care and welfare facilities” is 51%. As for support that residents who answered “I will return to Namie Town soon” think need to be enriched in Namie Town, “Support for shopping” is 68%, “Support for health and nursing care” is 50% and “Support for repairing or rebuilding of houses” is 46%. As for conditions that residents who answered “I will return to Namie Town sooner or later” think need to be improved in Namie Town, “Restoration of medical and nursing care facilities” is 64%, “Restoration of commercial and service industries” is 64% and “Being able to live in my home” is 34%. In “On the basic policies and issues concerning rearrangement of the restricted areas and areas where evacuation orders were issued after completion of Step 2” decided by the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters in December 2011, requirements for the lifting of evacuation orders are stipulated as follows: (i) annual cumulative dose is less than 20 mSv, (ii) restoration of infrastructure and completion of decontamination (iii) discussion with the prefectural government, municipalities and residents. JOURNAL OF ASIAN ARCHITECTURE AND BUILDING ENGINEERING 105 Figure 2. Land use in the town center of Namie Town as of September 2018. September 2018 since few residents returned to their What is more serious is the building trend after the home. These vacant buildings are not the only vacant demolition of buildings. Systematic information about ones. In addition to buildings affected by the Great East land owners’ intention to rebuild has not been Japan Earthquake, there are a lot of buildings that have released, but most landowners do not plan to build fallen into ruin since owners have not been able to main- new buildings according to interview survey with resi- tain their own buildings for more than 6 years because of dents and the Namie Town Office. For example, about evacuation orders. Therefore, there are many households 90% of roadside buildings of Shinmachi Street which that cannot return to Namie Town since they have no was the main street of Namie Town are scheduled to be houses to live in. demolished, but only one new building has been built The Ministry of the Environment is demolishing so far and other landowners do not intend to build. In these ruined buildings based on the application of other words, as demolition work of ruined buildings landowners and building owners. The fact that there progresses, Namie Town will be full of vacant lots. were 316 fewer buildings in September 2018 than While such negative changes of land use are pro- before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident is mainly gressing rapidly, positive changes such as the increase due to this demolition work. Because many buildings in the number of houses, shops, offices and dormi- are ruined, it is assumed that most owners applied tories for workers have also developed from for demolition. The Ministry of the Environment September 2017 to September 2018. However, the plans to complete demolition work by the end of scale of these positive changes is extremely smallcom- FY2020. pared with that of negative changes. Table 5. Business trends. unit: business establishment The number of busi- Wholesale industry and Accommodation industry and Food ness offices Retail industry service industry Others Namie Town July 2009 1,155 322 166 667 September 2017 71 18 8 - September 2018 122 22 20 80 Town center July 2009 480 154 112 214 September 2017 28 12 6 10 September 2018 80 11 15 54 The data as of July 2009 is based on “Economic census in 2009”, the data as of September 2017 is based on interview survey with Namie Town Office, the data of Namie Town as of September 2018 is based on “Offices and stores in operation in Namie Town” published by Namie Town Office and the data of town center as of September 2018 is based on field survey and office questionnaire survey. In the case of Namie Town, application for demolition of ruined buildings was closed at the end of March 2018. A total of 3,865 applications were made, and as of the end of November 2018, 2,368 buildings (61%) are demolished (The Fukushima Regional Environment Office of Ministry of the Environment 2018). The Ministry of the Environment is planning to demolish all buildings by the end of March 2021. 106 K. KAWASAKI With regard to nursing care facilities, there were five n=80 adult day service centers, one visiting nursing station, one special nursing home for the elderly, one long-term care 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% health facility, one long-term care facility for dementia Construction industry Accommodation industry and Food service industry patients and one communal daily long-term care facility Wholesale industry and Retail industry for dementia patients in Namie Town before the Financial industry and Insurance industry Academic research and Professional and technical service industry Fukushima Nuclear Accident (The Health and Welfare Life-related service industry and Amusement industry Medical and nursing care Department of Fukushima Prefectural Government Real estate industry and Rental and leasing industry 2010). However, as of September 2018, there is only Fishing industry Others a community general support center operated by Namie Unknown Town Office; other facilities have closed or moved. Figure 3. Industry types of business offices in the town center of Namie Town as of September 2018. 4.4. Public transportation Note. This figure is based on field survey and office questionnaire survey data. Although JR Joban Line, route buses (Namie Town ⇔ Kawamata Town and Namie Town ⇔ Nihonmatsu City), 4.2. Commercial facilities high-speed bus (Soma city ⇔ Tokyo), welfare buses, Although the number of business offices in Namie Town school buses, demand taxis, and taxis were operated in was 1,155 and the number of business offices in the town Namie Town, all of these public transportation routes center was 480 before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident, were canceled after the Fukushima Nuclear Accident. business offices have not reopened or been established However, some of public transportation has been smoothly after evacuation orders were lifted. As of operating since April 2017. JR Joban Line has resumed September 2018, the number of business offices in outbound service, and alternate buses are operating Namie Town is 122 (10% of the number before the inbound. Demand taxis for moving in the town and Fukushima Nuclear Accident) and the number of business traveling to Minamisoma City are operating, and taxis offices in the town center is 80 (17%) (Table 5, Figure 3). are available. Furthermore, from April 2018, welfare However, the number of business offices increased from buses are operating (Namie Town ⇔ Minamisoma City September 2017 to September 2018, especially in the and Namie Town ⇔ Motomiya City or Nihonmatsu City), construction industry, food and drink industry and service and school buses also began operating at the same time industry. elementary and junior high schools opened. Even though a year and a half has passed since evacuation orders were lifted, there are still few retail 5. Living conditions of residents stores handling foods. Before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident, 94% of residents purchased foods in Namie As mentioned above, the restoration of the living Town and residents of neighboring municipalities also environment is stipulated as one of the requirements purchased foods in Namie Town because there were for lifting of evacuation orders. However, as was made a lot of supermarkets and other stores in the town clear in the previous chapter, the living environment center (The Commerce and Labor Department of has not been restored to the extent that many disaster Fukushima Prefectural Government 2010). However, as victims could choose returning even after the lifting of of September 2018, retail stores in the town center evacuation orders. In order to understand living con- where residents are able to purchase foods are only ditions of residents under these circumstances, resi- a convenience store, a small shopping mall constructed dent characteristics, shopping, medical care, and life by the Namie Town Office and a prepared food store. in Namie Town are analyzed based on the results of the The increase in the number of retail stores handling resident questionnaire survey in this chapter. foods from September 2017 to September 2018 was The survey sheet of the resident questionnaire survey only one although the number of residents increased was distributed to 105 households, that is, all house- little by little and the number of workers also increased. holds except temporary residents’ households living in the town center, and it was collected from 45 house- 4.3. Medical and nursing care facilities holds (collection rate was 43%). However, as mentioned With regard to medical facilities, there was one hospi- above, the object of analysis is the 40 households with tal, twelve medical clinics and eight dental clinics in household members who lived in Namie Town before Namie Town before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident. the Fukushima Nuclear Accident (Table 6). However, as of September 2018, there is just one med- ical clinic and one dental clinic, both of which are 5.1. Resident characteristics located in the town center (Fukaya and Kawasaki 2018). Only one medical facility was added from The total number of household members of 40 house- September 2017 to September 2018. holds is 79, and the number of household members JOURNAL OF ASIAN ARCHITECTURE AND BUILDING ENGINEERING 107 Table 6. Outline of resident questionnaire survey. Purpose To grasp living conditions of residents in the town center of Namie Town after evacuation orders were lifted. Object Households living in the town center Method Interview survey. If the target households were absent at the time of visit, the survey sheet was posted and collected by mail. Survey items 1. Resident characteristics 2. Shopping 3. Medical care 4. Life in Namie Town Date of implementation September 5–6, 2018 (approximately one and a half years after evacuation orders were lifted) Number of sheets distributed 105 households Number of sheets collected 45 households (The number of households with household members who lived in Namie Town before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident is 40.) Collection rate 43% Table 7. Household members. The number of surveys collected 40 households Household members Before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident 131 people September 2018 79 people (Household members who lived in Namie Town before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident are 76 people.) Number of workers and students Before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident 54 people September 2018 42 people Among the 79 people, two newborn babies and one moving-in person are included. Number of students is zero both before Fukushima Nuclear Accident and asof September 2018. 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% n=40 September 2016 to March 2017 Household members n=79 April 2017 to September 2017 Respondents n=40 October 2017 to March 2018 Male Female April 2018 to September 2018 Figure 4. Sex. Figure 6. Period of return. who lived in Namie Town before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident is 76 (Table 7). The total number of enforcement of special system for staying and sleeping household members of 40 households before the at homes to the date of lifting of evacuation orders, is Fukushima Nuclear Accident was 131. The decrease 35% ; the sum of “April 2017 to September 2017” and (52 people) was mainly due to continuation of evacua- “October to March 2018”, that is one year after lifting of tion or migration of young and middle-aged people, evacuation orders, is 35%; and “April 2018 to and death of the elderly. September 2018”, that is more than one year since the As for sex, “Male” is 58% and “Female” is 42% in the lifting of evacuation orders, is 30% (Figure 6). As for hous- case of household members, and 73% and 28% in the ing, “A house where I lived before the Fukushima Nuclear case of respondents (Figure 4). As for age, people aged Accident” is 75% (Figure 7). Most households living in 60 years and over are 68% in the case of household their own houses basically live in houses that were not members and 75% of respondents (Figure 5). People damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake or by ani- aged 30 to 40 account for about 20% and are Namie mals or sneak thieves during the long evacuation period. Town Office officials for the most part. As for sleeping days per week in Namie Town, “Everyday” As for the period of return, “September 2016 to is 83% and from one- five days is 18% (Figure 8). March 2017”, that is the period from the date of 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% n=40 A house where I lived before the Household members n=79 Fukushima Nuclear Accident Respondents n=40 A house where I did not live before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident 0-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80-89 90-99 100 and over Figure 7. Housing. Figure 5. Age. The “special system for staying and sleeping at homes” is a system that exceptionally allows for residents to stay and sleep at their own homes in the “restricted residence zone” and the “zone in preparation for the lifting of the evacuation orders”. In Namie Town, the system was enforced on September 2016 for the first time. 108 K. KAWASAKI 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% n=40 Every day Before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident n=77 5 days 4 days September 2018 n=77 3 days Self-employed person or manager (primary industry) Self-employed person or manager (secondary industry) 2 days Self-employed person or manager (tertiary industry) Company employee or company officer 1 day Organization staff Local official Temporary employee, contract employee or dispatched worker Figure 8. Sleeping days per week in Namie Town. Part-time worker or side-job worker Student Unemployed Others As for the structure of households, “Nuclear family No answer household”, which accounted for 35% before the Figure 11. Occupation. Fukushima Nuclear Accident, decreased to 15% while Note. Persons who were 15 years old and over as of March 11, 2011 are the “One-person household” increased from 8% to 35% and target of of this question. “Household of couple only” increased from 30% to 43% (Figure 9). The decrease of “Nuclear family household” the people who have been able to return or who are and the increase of “One-person household” and forced to return to Namie Town. “Household of couple only” are mainly due to the fact As for workplace of workers, “Namie Town” accounts that the elderly returned home without the younger for 64% and it is almost the same as before the generation who wished to continue living at evacuation Fukushima Nuclear Accident (Figure 12). As for the com- destinations. muting method, “Automobile (driving by myself)” is 48% As for the possession of an automobile driver’s and “Walk” is 36%, and these are also almost the same as license, “I have” is 83% and households with household before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident (Figure 13). members who possess a license is 100% (Figure 10). As for occupation, “Unemployed”, which was 30% 5.2. Shopping before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident is 45% (Figure 11). Among workers, the rates of “Self-employed per- With regards to shopping, surveys on foods were son or manager (tertiary industry)”, “Company conducted. employee or company officer” and “Local official” are As for methods of shopping, “With household mem- high. Unemployed elderly people, self-employed per- bers living together” was 100% before the Fukushima sons or managers of tertiary industry, company Nuclear Accident and 95% as of September 2018 employees or company officers, local officials, etc. are (Figure 14). 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Before the Fukushima Nuclear Before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident n=40 Accident(n=54) September 2018 n=40 September 2018(n=42) One-person household Household of couple only Namie Town Others No answer Nuclear family household Three-generation household Others Figure 12. Workplace. Figure 9. Household structure. Note. Persons 15 years old and over who lived in Namie Town before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident are the target of this question. 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% n=77 Before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident(n=54) I have September 2018(n=42) I do not have Automobile (driving by myself) Automobile (driving by others) No answer Fixed-route bus Shuttle bus Taxi Walk Bicycle Train Motorcycle No answer Figure 10. Possession of an automobile driver’s license. Figure 13. Commuting method. Note. Persons who are 18 years old and over are the target of this Note. Persons 15 years old and over who lived in Namie Town before question. theFukushima Nuclear Accident are the target of this question. Students are 0 (0%) both before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident and as of September 2018. JOURNAL OF ASIAN ARCHITECTURE AND BUILDING ENGINEERING 109 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% n=40 Before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident n=40 I feel it is inconvenient September 2018 n=40 I do not feel it is inconvenient With household members living together With other persons By mobile stores or home delivery service No answer Figure 18. Evaluation of the convenience of shopping. Figure 14. Method of shopping. n=40 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% I feel uneasy Before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident n=40 I do not feel uneasy September 2018 n=39 No answer Namie Town Minamisoma City Others No answer Figure 15. Place of shopping. Figure 19. Feeling concerning shopping in the future. Note. Persons who answered “By mobile stores or home delivery service” as method of shopping are not the target of this question. 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% As for the place of shopping, although “Namie It is impossible to go shopping if I will not be able to drive a car Town” was 98% before the Fukushima Nuclear There are few retail stores handling Accident, “Minamisoma City” accounts for 72% as of foods nearby September 2018 since there are only a few retail stores n=25 Others handling foods, as mentioned above, and the variety of foods is quite limited (Figure 15). Figure 20. Reason for uneasy feeling concerning shopping in As for transportation method to the place of shop- the future. ping, although “Automobile” was 53% and “Walk” was Note. This figure is a summary of free descriptive answers written by 33% before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident, persons who answered “I feel uneasy” to the question about feeling concerningshopping in the future. “Automobile” accounts for 90% as of September 2018 since the number of people going to Minamisoma City has increased (Figure 16). of September 2018 since households who buy in bulk As for the frequency of shopping, although “Almost at the weekend have increased (Figure 17). every day” accounted for 63% before the Fukushima As for the evaluation on the convenience of shop- Nuclear Accident, “Once a week” accounts for 38% as ping, “I feel it is inconvenient” is 78% (Figure 18). As for the uneasy feeling concerning shopping in the future, “I feel uneasy” is 63% (Figure 19), and as for the reason, 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% “It is impossible to go shopping if I will not be able to Before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident n=40 drive a car” is 64% and “There are few retail stores handling foods nearby” is 24% (Figure 20). September 2018 n=39 Automobile Fixed-route bus Shuttle bus Taxi Walk Bicycle Train Motorcycle No answer 5.3. Medical care Figure 16. Transportation method to the place of shopping. As for the presence of household members who reg- Note. Persons who answered “By mobile stores or home delivery service” ularly attend hospitals or clinics, although “Yes” was as method of shopping are not the target of this question. 50% before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident, “Yes” accounts for 78% as of September 2018 (Figure 21). 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident n=40 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Before the Fukushima September 2018 n=39 Nuclear Accident n=40 Almost every day Two or three times per week Once a week Once every two weeks September 2018 n=40 No answer Yes No Figure 17. Frequency of shopping. Figure 21. Presence of household members who regularly Note. Persons who answered “By mobile stores or home delivery service” as method of shopping are not the target of this question. attend hospitals or clinics. 110 K. KAWASAKI This is mainly due to the fact that many household 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% members lost their health because of changes of the Before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident n=18 living environment accompanying evacuation. September 2018 n=26 As for medical specialty consulted by household members who regularly attend hospitals or clinics, Almost every day Two or three times per week Once a week Once every two weeks the rate of “Internal medicine” is high as of Once a month Less than once a month September 2018 (Figure 22). As for the location of hospitals or clinics where these Figure 25. Frequency of internal medicine appointments. Note. Persons who are household members and have regular internal household members regularly have internal medicine medicine appointments are the target of this question. appointments, although “Namie Town” was 50% before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident, “Namie Town” decreased to 23% while “Nihonmatsu City” rate of “Less than once a month” increased as persons and “Koriyama City”, cities where they evacuated to, who regularly have internal medicine appointments at increased (Figure 23). Therefore, as for transportation hospitals or clinics outside Namie Town has increased method, although “Automobile” was 78% before the (Figure 25). Fukushima Nuclear Accident, it is 88% as of As for the evaluation on the convenience of medical September 2018 (Figure 24). As for the frequency, the care, “I feel it is inconvenient” is 65% (Figure 26). As for the uneasy feeling concerning medical care in the future, “I feel uneasy” is 69% (Figure 27), and as for 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% the reason, “There is no general hospital in Namie Internal medicine Orthopedic surgery Town”is 48% and “It is impossible to go to hospitals Psychiatry or clinics if I will not be able to drive a car” is 34% Ophthalmology Otolaryngology (Figure 28). Dermatology Before the Fukushima Urology Nuclear Accident n=40 Radiology Neurology n=40 September 2018 n=40 Rehabilitation Pediatrics Gynecology I feel it is inconvenient Dentistry Others I do not feel it is inconvenient Figure 22. Medical specialty. Note. This figure shows the result of a question for which respondents may select muitiple responses. Figure 26. Evaluation of the convenience of medical care. 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% n=40 Before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident n=18 I feel uneasy September 2018 n=26 I do not feel uneasy Namie Town Minamisoma City Futaba Town Nihonmatsu City Koriyama City Fukushima City Others No answer Figure 23. Location of hospitals or clinics where household Figure 27. Feeling concerning medical care in the future. members regularly have internal medicine appointments. Note. Persons who are household members and have regular internal medicine appointments are the target of this question. 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% There is not a general hospital in Namie Town Before the Fukushima It is impossible to go to hospitals or Nuclear Accident n=18 clinics if I will not be able to drive a car September 2018 n=26 n=27 Others Automobile Fixed-route bus Shuttle bus Taxi Walk Bicycle Train Motorcycle No answer Figure 28. Reason for uneasy feeling concerning medical care Figure 24. Transportation method to regular internal medicine in the future. appointments. Note. This figure is a summary of free descriptive answers written by Note. Persons who are household members and have regular internal persons who answered “I feel uneasy” to the question about feeling concerning medical care in the future. medicine appointments are the target of this question. JOURNAL OF ASIAN ARCHITECTURE AND BUILDING ENGINEERING 111 5.4. Life in Namie Town 5.4.3. Change in quality of life and sense of revitalization 5.4.1. Reason for return and intention to continue As for the change in quality of life, as compared with living in Namie Town before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident, “Worse off” is As for the reason for returning to Namie Town, “To return 70% (Figure 32). As for the reason, “The living environ- to the place where I lived long” is 70%, “To work” is 43% ment such as shopping and medical care became and “To protect my ancestral land” is 38% (Figure 29). inconvenient” is 39%, and “The family became sepa- As for the intention to continue living in Namie rated” is 32%. As compared with the evacuation per- Town in the future, “I will continue to live here” is iod, “Worse off” is 40%. As for the reason, “The living 75% (Figure 30). environment such as shopping and medical care became inconvenient” is 38%, and “Residents have 5.4.2. Relationship with neighbors not returned so much” is 19%. As for relationship with neighbors, “I have a lot of As for the sense of revitalization, “I do not think that relationships with neighbors” was 80% before the disaster victims and affected areas are revitalizing” is Fukushima Nuclear Accident (Figure 31). However, “I 70% (Figure 33). As for the reason, “Residents still do have few relationships with neighbors” increased to not return so much” is 32%, and “The living environ- 63% during the evacuation period since the living ment such as shopping and medical care is still not environment has changed completely. restored” is 18%. Although “I have few relationships with neighbor- s”is 50% after returning to Namie Town since there are 5.4.4. Conditions to be improved few residents, the rate of “I have a lot of relationships As for conditions to be improved in Namie Town, with neighbors” and “I have relationships with neigh- “Restoration and improvement of commercial functions” bors to some extent” is higher than those of the eva- is 88%, “Restoration and improvement of medical and cuation period because the number of residents is nursing care functions” is 83%, “Restoration and improve- increasing little by little. ment of public transportation functions” is 72%, “Return of residents” is 56% and “Containment of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident” is 54% (Figure 34). 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% As for “Restoration and improvement of commercial To return to the place where I lived functions”, residents think that residents need super- long markets in Namie Town, that elderly persons will not To work be able to live their lives unless commercial facilities To protect my ancestral land n=40 are constructed nearby, and that it is necessary to Others restore the living environment where residents are able to buy daily foods and daily necessaries without Figure 29. Reason for return. using a car. Note. This figure shows the result of a question for which respondents As for “Restoration and improvement of medical may select muitiple responses. and nursing care functions”, residents think that resi- dents need a general hospital where they can be n=40 I will continue to live in Namie Town I will move within Namie Town 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% n=40 I will move outside Namie Town As compared with before the I do not know Fukushima Nuclear Accident No answer As compared with the evacuation period Figure 30. Intention to continue living in Namie Town. Better off Worse off No change No answer Figure 32. Change in quality of life. 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% n=40 Before the Fukushima Nuclear Accident n=40 Evacuation period I think that disaster victims and September 2018 affected areas are revitalizing I do not think that disaster victims and I have a lot of relationships with neighbors affected areas are revitalizing I have relationships with neighbors to some extent I have few relationships with neighbors I do not know No answer Figure 31. Relationship with neighbors. Figure 33. Sense of revitalization. 112 K. KAWASAKI 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% it remains only a small percentage of the registered Restoration and improvement of residents of Namie Town. In addition, most residents commercial functions living in Namie Town are unemployed elderly people Restoration and improvement of medical and nursing care functions who have experienced separation from family members Restoration and improvement of due to evacuation and return; there are few young public transportation functions Return of residents people and children who will lead the next generation. Containment of the Fukushima As for the living environment, most residents have no Nuclear Accident home to return to because their homes have fallen into Reduction of radioactivity ruin during the long evacuation period, and most com- Restart of business offices mercial facilities and medical and nursing care facilities Support for repairing or rebuilding are closed. Under such living conditions, residents living of housing n=40 in Namie Town live their lives with uneasy feelings con- Improvement of security cerning shopping and medical care in the future. Others In other words, with regards to affected areas, the living environment has not been restored to the extent Figure 34. Conditions to be improved in Namie Town. that many disaster victims are able to choose returning, Note. This figure shows the result of a question for which respondents and with regards to returnees, they are still disaster may select muitiple responses. victims in that they live in the living environment with hardship. This is the current status of areas where one hospitalized, that residents need a hospital that is and a half years have passed since evacuation orders able to treat them in emergencies, that residents were lifted, based on the official judgement that the need hospitals or clinics with orthopedic surgery, living environment had been restored since decontami- otolaryngology and ophthalmology, and that resi- nation and restoration of infrastructure were completed. dents need nursing care facilities because most retur- Although there are approximately two years until FY nees are elderly. 2020 when the reconstruction period will end, when the As for “Restoration and improvement of public Reconstruction Agency will reach its installation dead- transportation functions”, residents think that resi- line and when the Tokyo Olympic will be held, there are dents need public taxi and chauffeur service, that the many issues to be solved in areas where evacuation entire JR Joban Line needs to be restored, and that the orders have been lifted. It is obvious that revitalization number of buses should be increased. from the nuclear disaster will not be achieved in As for “Return of residents”, residents think that resi- 10 years. Rather, the “2020 problems”, that is, the pro- dents living in evacuation destinations will not return to blems caused by the Fukushima revitalization policies Namie Town unless commercial functions or medical and which have been implemented to create the image that nursing care functions are improved, unless supporting the national government achieved revitalization of measures to promote rebuilding housing are established, Fukushima from the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster by FY unless employment opportunities for young people are 2020, are becoming evident at present even though secured, and unless environments where parents are able livelihood rehabilitation of disaster victims and restora- to raise children safely are developed. tion of affected areas have not yet been achieved. As for “Containment of the Fukushima Nuclear Characteristics of the nuclear disaster that are dif- Accident”, residents think that containment is neces- ferent from those of a natural disaster lie in that there sary to promote residents living in evacuation destina- are subjects who caused the accident, wide areas tions to return, that residents are uneasy that nuclear damaged for a long period of time and disaster victims power plants might explode again, and that Tokyo forced to evacuate beyond municipal areas for a long Electric Power Company Holdings should publish period of time. While the Fukushima revitalization information free of deceit. polices have been implemented with 32 trillion yen so far, the number of disaster-related deaths and dis- aster-related suicides have increased in Fukushima 6. Conclusions particularly (The Reconstruction Agency, Cabinet The findings obtained from the above are fundamen- Office and Fire and Disaster Management Agency tally the same as those obtained by Kawasaki (2018). 2018). It is necessary to shift to Fukushima revitaliza- Although the number of residents living in Namie Town tion policies based on the actual conditions of disaster has doubled from September 2017 to September 2018, victims and affected areas. As of 30 September 2018, the number of the disaster-related death caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake is 3,701 people. The number the disaster- related death of Fukushima Prefecture is 2,250 people (61%), and it continues to be increasing. The number the disaster-related death of 11 municipalities where evacuation orders were issued is 1,998 people (89%). JOURNAL OF ASIAN ARCHITECTURE AND BUILDING ENGINEERING 113 Architecture and Planning (Transactions of AIJ) 83 (751): Acknowledgments 1809–1819. doi:10.3130/aija.83.1809. This study was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number Health and Welfare Department of Fukushima Prefectural JP18K04475. Government. 2010. List of Related Facilities. Fukushima, Japan: Health and Welfare Department of Fukushima Prefectural Government. Kawasaki, K. 2018. Decontamination and Revitalization in Disclosure statement Fukushima. Tokyo, Japan: Maruzen Publishing Co. No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author. Lee, M., and A. Kubota. 2016. “The Study on the Resurgence of the Regional Business Places in the Areas Affected by the Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Power Plant Disaster: Focus on the Secondary and the Tertiary Industries in Notes on contributor Odaka Area, Minamisoma City, Which Is in the Zone in Preparation for the Lifting of the Evacuation Order.” Journal Kota Kawasaki was born in 1971. I received a Doctorate of of the City Planning Institute of Japan 51 (3): 1054–1061. Engineering from Tsukuba University in 2008. I became an Niizuma, N., and A. Kubota. 2018. “A Study on Land Use associate professor of Fukushima University in 2010. Patterns of the Villages Affected by the Earthquake, Tsunami, Nuclear Accident after the Lifting of Evacuation Order: Focusing on Villages of Odaka Wards, Minamisoma References City, Fukushima Prefecture.” Journal of the City Planning Commerce and Labor Department of Fukushima Prefectural Institute of Japan 53 (3): 935–942. Government. 2010. Report of the 14th Consumption Trend Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters. 2011. On the Basic Policies and Issues Concerning Rearrangement of the Survey. Restricted Areas and Areas Where Evacuation Orders Were Fukaya, C., and K. Kawasaki. 2018. “Current State and Issues of Issued after Completion of Step 2. Tokyo, Japan: Nuclear Medical Service in 12 Municipalities Affected by Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters. Disaster in Fukushima.” Journal of the City Planning Reconstruction Agency, Cabinet Office and Fire and Disaster Institute of Japan 53 (2): 206–214. Management Agency. 2018. The number of the disaster- Fukushima Regional Environment Office of Ministry of the related death caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake as Environment. 2018. Recent efforts of Fukushima Regional of September 30, 2018. Tokyo, Japan: Reconstruction Environment Office dated December 7, 2018. Fukushima, Agency, Cabinet Office and Fire and Disaster Japan: Fukushima Regional Environment Office of Management Agency. Ministry of the Environment. Reconstruction Agency, Fukushima Prefectural Government Hagiwara, T., Y. Ota, and A. Kubota. 2018. “Study on Houses and Namie Town. 2018. Report of Namie Town Resident Kept or Rebuilt at a Village Affected by the Nuclear Questionnaire Survey. Tokyo, Japan: Reconstruction Agency, Accident: Case Study in Kamiura District, Odaka-Ward, Fukushima Prefectural Government and Namie Town. Minami-soma City, Fukushima Prefecture.” Journal of
Journal
Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering
– Taylor & Francis
Published: Jan 2, 2021
Keywords: Nuclear disaster; Fukushima Nuclear Accident; lifting of evacuation orders; retuning home; revitalization
