Japan Plans to Lift Evacuation Order for Naraha Town Near Fukushima

TOKYO (Sputnik) — Japanese authorities plan in mid-August to lift an evacuation order for the town of Naraha near the Fukushima nuclear power plant, the country's Economy, Trade and Industry Minister, Yosuke Takagi, who deals with disaster response issues, said Wednesday.

Japan's government recently lifted evacuation orders for the eastern part of Kawauchi village and the Miyakoji district of Tamura city, both located in Fukushima Prefecture as part of an initiative to return evacuees by March 2017, unless the radiation levels remain unhealthful.

"After lifting the evacuation order, we plan to continue expanding the support measures for the restoration of the Naraha town," Takagi said at a meeting of local town assembly members, adding that authorities will not force residents to return.

In March 2011, the largest nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl catastrophe occurred in Japan, when the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was hit by a tsunami triggered by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake. Radioactive material leaked into the sea, soil and atmosphere, and hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated from the contaminated region.

Some 140,000 people were evacuated from neighborhoods near the plant, many of whom have been unable to return to their homes due to high radiation levels. Eliminating the consequences of the disaster is expected to take up to 40 years.