Fukushima residents: The Japanese government's strong push for nuclear contaminated water to be discharged into the sea has decided to revive local towns with no hope of fast food | Penguins | Towns
It has been 12 years since the Fukushima nuclear accident occurred. In recent years, the Japanese government has carried out decontamination of areas contaminated with radioactive materials and gradually lifted evacuation instructions, calling on people to return to their hometowns and live. However, investigations have shown that more than half of Fukushima residents who have left their hometowns for refuge due to nuclear pollution have decided not to return due to concerns about safety or inconvenience in life. The decontamination work on a large area of land near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has not been completed, and the Japanese government is still pushing for a plan to discharge contaminated water into the sea, making local people feel even more hopeless about revival.
Shuangye Town, Fukushima Prefecture is less than ten kilometers away from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Shuangye Town, which was severely polluted during the nuclear accident, only allowed residents to live in August last year, making it the administrative district with the longest evacuation instructions for all residents after the nuclear accident. In order to restore the prosperity of Shuangye Town as soon as possible, the local government established the Shuangye Town Industrial Exchange Center in 2020, providing catering and shopping services for local workers and visitors. 51 year old Toshiko Yamamoto runs a fast food restaurant called "Penguin" at the exchange center.
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Yamamoto Toshiko was born and raised in Shuangye Town. More than 20 years ago, her mother opened a fast food restaurant called "Penguin" in the local area, offering fast food such as hamburgers, which is loved by young people. After the Fukushima nuclear accident, the family went to Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture for refuge. In 2020, in order to support the revitalization of his hometown, Dunzi decided to return to his hometown and reopen the "Penguin" restaurant. However, the road to the revival of Shuangye Town was very difficult.
Fukushima Prefecture's restaurant operator in Shuangye Town, Toshiko Yamamoto: Bringing back people who used to live in Shuangye is the most difficult issue. Since last year, people have finally been able to live there, and the revival is still far from complete. Many essential facilities for daily life, such as supermarkets, are not available, making it difficult to achieve basic normal living here, so I think it's very difficult.
![Fukushima residents: The Japanese government's strong push for nuclear contaminated water to be discharged into the sea has decided to revive local towns with no hope of fast food | Penguins | Towns](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/9b2a0cd07757c91c3e90fd872c2c2ccd.jpg)
In order to purchase ingredients, Atsuko Yamamoto currently resides in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture, about 60 kilometers away from Shuangye Town. Despite facing numerous difficulties, Dunzi will persist in opening the restaurant. She hopes more people will come back and make her hometown Shuangye Town lively again. However, shortly after the reopening of Penguin Restaurant, the Japanese government announced a decision to discharge nuclear contaminated water into the sea, which made her worried.
Fukushima Prefecture's restaurant operator, Toshiko Yamamoto: Our catering industry is under pressure to damage our image. Originally, Fukushima had so many delicious foods, but now the damage to our image has been alleviated. If we have to go global again, we are really worried.
![Fukushima residents: The Japanese government's strong push for nuclear contaminated water to be discharged into the sea has decided to revive local towns with no hope of fast food | Penguins | Towns](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/f32d2497ed4679d601bac26172e12852.jpg)