The Japanese government has encouraged people living within 20 to 30 kilometers of the troubled nuclear plant in Fukushima Prefecture to leave voluntarily, with concerns over access to daily necessities rather than resident safety prompting the advice, top government spokesman Yukio Edano said Friday.
The chief cabinet secretary told a news conference that the government told heads of affected municipalities within 20 to 30 km of the plant that it is encouraging people to voluntarily move farther away and will give its full support in helping them relocate.
With many residents living between 20 and 30 km of the Fukushima Daiichi complex already voluntarily evacuating and more wanting to leave the area, Edano said it is ‘‘preferable’’ for people to leave of their own accord, given the difficulties they were encountering in their daily lives.
‘‘The distribution of goods is stalled, and it is rather difficult to maintain their daily living over a long period of time,’’ he said, adding that the government will provide logistical assistance in terms of transportation and facilities to accept those moving more than 30 km from the plant.
The government has also asked municipalities to work closely with the central and prefectural governments to make an immediate evacuation possible for residents should the government issue an evacuation directive, the chief cabinet secretary said.
The government so far has no plans to expand the designated exclusion zone, Edano said, noting there has been no fresh information about the levels of radiation since the government issued its directives.
After the catastrophic March 11 earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and caused radiation leaks, directives were issued for people living in a 20-km radius of the plant to evacuate and those in the 20- to 30-km range to stay indoors.
Locals staying indoors have had an increasingly hard time sourcing a range of goods, as a lack of deliveries means supplies are not being replenished. Trucking companies are shunning the government-designated area apparently for fear of radiation exposure.
On a possible new directive from the government, Edano said the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan is looking into the possibility of whether or not an evacuation directive can be issued on the basis of living circumstances rather than safety concerns.
Evacuation directives to date have all been linked to concerns about radiation levels.
Meanwhile, the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan, a government panel, recommended voluntary evacuation since the release of radioactive materials from the plant is expected to continue for some time.
Image credit: KEI / Wikimedia
