FAQ
Safety in Fukushima
After receiving confirmation that the Tokyo Electric Power Company Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station had reached cold shutdown in December 2011, the Japanese government established three zones in the area: Evacuation Order Cancellation Preparation Zone, Restricted Residence Zone, and Difficult-to-Return Zone. By March 2020, the evacuation order was lifted for all areas in the Evacuation Order Cancellation Preparation Zone and the Restricted Residence Zone.
In August 2016, the government announced its intention to lift all evacuation orders in the future, including those for the Difficult-to-Return Zone, which is, in principle, an area where residency was restricted for the foreseeable future. To achieve this goal, the government has been promoting initiatives and established a system for Specified Reconstruction and Revitalization Base Areas and Specified Living Areas for Returnees.
Under this zone, evacuation orders were maintained while assistance measures for recovery and reconstruction—decontamination, infrastructure restoration, and employment stimulation—were quickly implemented with the goal of enabling residents to return as soon as possible.
※Evacuation orders were lifted for all areas by March 2020.
A zone that calls for continued evacuation from the perspective of reducing the radiation dose of residents. In the future, the aim is for residents to return to their homes and rebuild their communities.
※Evacuation orders were lifted for all areas by March 2020.
Under this zone, there is a general rule that residency is restricted for the foreseeable future.
※In August 2016, the Japanese government decided to work toward the earliest possible reconstruction of the Difficult-to-Return Zone, based on its determination to lift the evacuation order for all areas under the Difficult-to-Return Zone in the future, even if it takes many years, and to take responsibility for their reconstruction and revitalization.
Specified Reconstruction and Revitalization Base Areas
The plan for this category, which lies within the Difficult-to-Return Zone, was to lift evacuation orders and return residents to their homes within approximately five years of approval.
※By November 2023, all evacuation orders were lifted in the six towns and villages of the Specified Reconstruction and Revitalization Base Areas.
Specified Living Areas for Returnees
The plan for this category, which lies within the Difficult-to-Return Zone but outside of the Specified Reconstruction and Revitalization Base Areas, is to lift evacuation orders over the course of the 2020s to allow residents to return to their homes and rebuild their lives.