Evacuation Order Partially Lifted In Futaba Town
An evacuation order that's been in place since the 2011 nuclear accident has been lifted in some parts of Futaba Town, Fukushima Prefecture.
The order was lifted on Wednesday for nearly 5 percent of the town that co-hosts the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The area covers the northeastern part of the town where radiation levels have been relatively low, and one section of a no-entry zone whose high levels of radiation have been reduced by decontamination work.
Futaba is the only municipality whose entire area had been under an evacuation order for the past nine years.
This is also the first time that the order has been lifted for a no-entry zone.
But town officials say no residents are returning at the moment because of the slow progress in rebuilding basic infrastructure.
The officials say they are building an industrial complex and public facilities so evacuees can start to return from 2022.
An area near Futaba Station where decontamination work has progressed can be visited at any time, although it is inside the no-entry zone and the evacuation order remains in place. But people cannot stay overnight.
