[국제]The road to revival, far and far…What is the area affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake for 10 years now?

[앵커]

Ten years ago, the Great East Japan Earthquake took place today, which killed nearly 20,000 people.

The first strong earthquake, tsunami, and the scars left by the Fukushima nuclear power plant explosion still remain clear even after 10 years.

We will talk in detail with correspondent Lee Kyung-ah, who has been covering the site of the affected area in Fukushima. Correspondent Lee Kyung-ah!

At the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake, YTN also maintained a 24-hour special report, and media around the world vividly conveyed the horror.

Let’s first sort out how much damage was done at that time.

[기자]

Ten years ago, at 2:46 p.m., the largest earthquake in Japan’s observation history occurred.

After that, a huge tsunami over 10 meters in height came to the three prefectures of Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima, which are the coastal areas.

More than 18,000 people died and disappeared due to this, and when people died due to diseases related to the earthquake, more than 20,000 people were killed.

Even now, 41,000 residents of the affected area are living in refuge without being able to return to their homes.

The material damage was also enormous.

A typical example is that the cooling function of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant was interrupted due to a tsunami and eventually two reactors exploded.

This nuclear accident was recorded as a catastrophe of the same level as Chernobyl in 1986 in the accident class.

It is only about 225 trillion won, calculated by the Japanese government as the cost of dealing with nuclear accidents over 30-40 years.

As the decommissioning period and the method of treating contaminated water are not yet clear, it is not known how much the period and cost will increase.

[앵커]

There are more than 40,000 people who are still living in refuge.

Why can’t you go back?

[기자]

When I met the victims in person, the reasons why they couldn’t return home were complex.

One of them is that there is not yet an environment in which people can live.

The case of Harue Sanpei in the Tsushima district of Fukushima was a typical example.

This area is a’return difficult zone’ where people cannot live with an annual cumulative radiation dose exceeding 50 millisieverts.

Under the guidance of Mr. Sanpei, I toured the center of the village, schools, and town offices.

It was left in ruins, and there were traces of wild animals everywhere, and there were many places that were demolished because of the severe damage.

The Japanese government has announced that it will remove radioactive materials from some of the seven remaining areas of difficulty returning to Fukushima so that people can live.

In the case of this Tsushima district, the area covered is only 1.6% of the total.

About 600 residents filed a lawsuit against the government’s policy, asking for the village to be restored to its original state.

Let’s listen to the feelings of the victims.

[산페이 하루에 / 후쿠시마 피해 주민 : 아버지가 돌아오고 싶어하셨지만 결국 오지 못한 채 돌아가셨다. 일본 정부는 1.6%만 제염해 주고 여기 와서 살 수 있겠는지 직접 와서 봐야 한다.]

[앵커]

That’s a shame.

How did the residents who returned from refugee life live?

[기자]

The Iidate-mura village I visited had the highest concentration of radioactive substances among the affected areas after the nuclear explosion.

Some residents are now living back, but most of them are elderly.

Eiko Kanno, who passed eight orders of magnitude, also returned to the house where nine people lived alone.

There are no hospitals or shops, and the elderly are living in dependence on each other.

The Japanese government has created a new residential complex for residents to return to the area.

But right next to this jar are black sacks of radioactive soil.

Greenpeace recently revealed that 85% of the areas the Japanese government said would be responsible for decontamination still remain contaminated.

It is said that the radiation dose itself has decreased, but it is a situation where we have to live for a considerable period of time with pollution.

In this situation, residents were uncomfortable with the government’s behavior of emphasizing the Tokyo Olympics as the’Revival Olympics’.

[칸노 에이코 / 이이다테무라 주민 : 방사능 문제라는게 끝이 없는데…지금도 그렇고 그게 제일 괴롭다. 부흥의 상징으로 올림픽을 치르는 건 아니라고 본다.]

[앵커]

The Fukushima nuclear power plant and how to solve the problem of radioactive contamination will ultimately determine the future of the region.

Not only the international community but also local residents are strongly opposed to the treatment of contaminated water. What will happen?

[기자]

I went to Ukedo Port, 6 km north of the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Originally, the seafood caught here is famous for its good quality, and it is said that before the nuclear power plant accident, the price was higher than in other places.

The auction resumed after 9 years last year, but the fishermen said that the same vigor disappeared.

Fisheries here have set higher standards than the government to make sure they are safe from radioactive materials, but sales are rarely recovering.

As the Japanese government said it would throw away radioactive water into the sea, fishermen said it was a matter of survival.

More than half of the people oppose the discharge of contaminated water from nuclear power plants, and more than 70% of public opinion agrees on the discharge of nuclear power plants.

The Suga cabinet was initially trying to officially announce its release policy last fall, but has not been able to do so until now due to deteriorating public opinion at home and abroad.

At some point after the Tokyo Olympics in July, it is expected that the contaminated water will be discharged in earnest again.

[앵커]

The impact of the earthquake and nuclear power plant accident on various parts of Japanese society is unpredictable, but can we find hope for the future?

[기자]

In Futaba-machi, where all facilities were wiped out by the tsunami, the Great East Japan Earthquake Museum was opened in September last year.

It is said that 37,000 people have visited so far.

At the time of the earthquake, I asked Maino Watanabe, an employee of the Jeon Seung-gwan, who was in the third grade of elementary school.

[와타나베 마이노 / 전승관 직원 : 옛날의 마을로 돌아가는 것은 사실상 불가능하다고 생각하고, 새로운 마을을 만드는 것이 부흥이라고 봅니다.지진을 경험했고 전달하는 것이 가능한 마지막 세대라는 말을 듣고 큰 책임감과 사명감을 갖고 있습니다.]

This museum is located in Futaba-machi, a tsunami-affected area.

All 7,000 residents of this area are still evacuating, with 62% of them saying they will not return to the village.

Although 10 years have passed, electricity, water, and gas have not yet been restored, and the streets were left in ruins.

Building houses, roads, and construction were being carried out everywhere, but creating an environment where people can live and a town where they want to return was still felt as a distant future.

The people of the Tohoku region, the affected area, are well known in Japan for their patience and strong will.

Ambassador to Japan Kang Chang-il expressed condolences and condolences for the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake and their bereaved families.

So far, this is YTN Lee Kyung-ah from Tokyo.