Shadow of Fukushima: Images of Abandoned Futaba Town Nine Years After Japan's Worst Nuclear Accident

If you go to Futaba in Japan, you will see astonishing views of abandoned buildings, shops with turned over shelters and tables, and rusted cars.

The town is situated within the 20 kilometres exclusion radius around the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that was almost destroyed by the 2011 earthquake, which saw the town's population evacuated.

Despite its sad past, the town has a chance to see a brighter future. The Japanese government has made efforts to clean up the town from radiation, and it has also lifted the evacuation order so that the town is on the Olympic Torch Relay route.

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Yuji Onuma, an evacuee from Futaba Town near tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, walks next to a collapsed shop on the street in Futaba Town, inside the exclusion zone around the plant, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan February 20, 2020. Picture taken February 20, 2020.

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A stopped clock shows the time of March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster at a damaged fire brigade office inside the exclusion zone around the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Futaba Town, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan February 20, 2020. Picture taken February 20, 2020.

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Yuji Onuma, an evacuee from Futaba Town near tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, wears a protective suit as he prepares for entering to the exclusion zone around the plant, in Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan February 20, 2020.

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FILE PHOTO: An empty shopping street, under a sign reading "Nuclear Power - The Energy for a Better Future", is seen at the entrance of Futaba town, inside the exclusion zone of a 20-km (12-mile) radius around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima prefecture January 15, 2012.

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One of Takahisa Ogawa's overgrown bee nests is seen in Futaba Town, near tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan February 17, 2020. Picture taken February 17, 2020.

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Yuji Onuma, an evacuee from Futaba Town near tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, records video around his house in Futaba Town, inside the exclusion zone around the plant, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan February 20, 2020. Picture taken February 20, 2020.

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Damaged supermarket shop is seen inside the exclusion zone around the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Futaba Town, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan February 20, 2020. Picture taken February 20, 2020.

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Yuji Onuma, an evacuee from Futaba Town near tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, checks his house in Futaba Town, inside the exclusion zone around the plant, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan February 20, 2020. Picture taken February 20, 2020.

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A worker is seen at the reconstruction site near Futaba Station, inside the exclusion zone around the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, in Futaba Town, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan February 20, 2020. Picture taken February 20, 2020.

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Yuji Onuma, an evacuee from Futaba Town near tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, receives a security check by an official as he enters to the exclusion zone around the plant, in Futaba Town, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan February 20, 2020. Picture taken February 20, 2020.

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The ocean is seen through broken windows of a building which was damaged by the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Futaba Town, near tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan February 17, 2020. Picture taken February 17, 2020.

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An abandoned car is seen inside the exclusion zone around the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Futaba Town, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan February 20, 2020. Picture taken February 20, 2020.