Fukushima, Japan is an interesting place to explore because this small land and water area has had one of the largest and most catastrophic disasters in Japans' history and this disaster has affected the economy, culture and tourism of Japan and its surrounding areas.
The Fukushima nuclear disaster was a catastrophic failure at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant on March 11, 2011. The failure occurred when the plant was hit by a tsunami triggered by the Tohoku 9.0 earthquake. Four of the six nuclear reactors at the plant basically exploded and the plant began releasing substantial amounts of radioactive materials. This incident became the largest nuclear incident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and the second to measure Level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale.
Fukushima was a rural region of Japan known for its beautiful landscapes and quiet atmosphere. Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is 150 miles northeast of Tokyo. The tsunami along with the earthquake in this area created a chain of events that made this area of Fukushima almost inhabitable. Now, the government has requested that private, non- for profit Tokyo Electric and Power or TEPCO be in charge of the cleanup.
More than 160,000 residents remain evacuated across the country with no immediate prospect of being able to return to their homes. There has also been a huge impact to the local economy with people and businesses such as the fishing industry not wanting to be associated with the nuclear fallout. Furthermore, a string of food safety scares in food items like green tea, beef and even baby milk formula have resulted in a growing sense of distrust among the public for their own food and the governments' management of their food. Animal populations such as butterflies and fish have grown deformities or died off. Many scientists in America think that the radiation has indeed traveled through ocean currents and that American food and animal populations could be affected. Scientists also say that if a tsunami or another earthquake hits Japan again than we can say goodbye to Japan's existence and people on the west coast of America would need to evacuate completely. This is a very scary thought.
More than 160,000 residents remain evacuated across the country with no immediate prospect of being able to return to their homes. There has also been a huge impact to the local economy with people and businesses such as the fishing industry not wanting to be associated with the nuclear fallout. Furthermore, a string of food safety scares in food items like green tea, beef and even baby milk formula have resulted in a growing sense of distrust among the public for their own food and the governments' management of their food. Animal populations such as butterflies and fish have grown deformities or died off. Many scientists in America think that the radiation has indeed traveled through ocean currents and that American food and animal populations could be affected. Scientists also say that if a tsunami or another earthquake hits Japan again than we can say goodbye to Japan's existence and people on the west coast of America would need to evacuate completely. This is a very scary thought.
Reports say that the clean up of the 20-mile disaster zone is behind schedule due different opinions on who should clean up the sites and a shortage of workers. Many headhunters are now trying to recruit homeless men by paying them minimum wage to clean up the radioactive areas but this is still not enough. The decontamination process is expected to take three decades to complete with an estimated 90 billion dollar cost to estimate.
Today, Shinzo Abe, who is the Prime Minister of Japan as of December 26, 2013, is advocating for the reintroduction of nuclear power. Shinzo has moved aggressively to expand Japan's reliance on nuclear power even though the country has no nuclear waste repository and has already used more than 14,000 tons of spent fuel in cooling pools at 50 nuclear plants around the world. Shinzo has a panel of 15 people on his nuclear advisory panel, who back him up and he plans to restart Japans' nuclear reactors as soon as he can even though more than half the population and other countries are not in favor of his maneuvers.
Fukushima and the surrounding areas have shown the fact that sustainability is hard when there is a huge natural disaster.The sustainability of a certain geographic location can be greatly affected by natural disasters. The Japanese, for example, have started to migrate to other parts of Japan and even other countries leading to overpopulation in some areas. There is also a new competition and an exploitation of resources in Japan now that they are limited. The lives of future generations to come will be adversely affected by this pivotal point in Japans' history. So, the Japanese are seeing that their sustainability efforts and positive impact on the environment have been compromised because of the dealdy gases and large amounts of radiation that continue to be released.
Fukushima and the surrounding areas have shown the fact that sustainability is hard when there is a huge natural disaster.The sustainability of a certain geographic location can be greatly affected by natural disasters. The Japanese, for example, have started to migrate to other parts of Japan and even other countries leading to overpopulation in some areas. There is also a new competition and an exploitation of resources in Japan now that they are limited. The lives of future generations to come will be adversely affected by this pivotal point in Japans' history. So, the Japanese are seeing that their sustainability efforts and positive impact on the environment have been compromised because of the dealdy gases and large amounts of radiation that continue to be released.
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