Two years later, radiation levels in Japan's Fukushima prefecture are only slightly higher than other regions. But parents with school-aged children are slow to return home following the 2011 nuclear disaster. And local schools have seen their enrollment fall dramatically. But community residents are keeping their school doors open in the hopes that families will soon return home. On April 24, Japan's NHK World NEWSLINE program reported on the story of a school and its only student.

--

Reporter:
It's the start of the school year in Onami Elementary School on the rural fringes of Fukushima City. But it's rather a lonely ceremony. There's only one student, sixth grader, Takashi Sato.

Takashi Sato:
I'm the only student this year. But that gives me the opportunity to interact more closely with my teachers. 

Reporter:
After the explosion at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant, radiation levels in the Onami district were considerably higher than in other parts of Fukushima City. Before the disaster in March 2011, there were 30 children attending Onami Elementary. But most of them were taken out of the area and there's only one student left. Even so, the city's Board of Education decided the school should be kept open.

Kenji Fukuchi:
We must take into consideration the possibility that children will return to the school in  future. We should not rush to shut down the school or integrate it with another school merely foir the sake of economy.

Reporter:
The Board was swayed by people who stayed behind in the district. Hideo Sato is the head of the neighborhood association in Onami. Like his father, he studied at the school and so did his children.

Hideo Sato:
Children are our treasure and they are the ones who will build our future. School is therefore more important than anything else.

Reporter:
Strenuous efforts have been taken to reduce radiation levels in the area. Throughout Fukushima, the biggest issue has been where to store the radioactive waste. Onami was the first community in the city to set up its own waste storage site. Radiation in the area is down to a half or even a quarter of its earlier levels.

Hideo Sato:
Thanks to the decontamination  work its just point-three-six-nine micro-sieverts per hour. Our duty is to improve the environment so school enrollment will rise.

Reporter:
Sato is now receiving one-on-one lessons at the school. Steps are also  being taken so he can attend lessons and extracurricular activities at other schools, giving him the chance to interact with other children.

Masaaki Abe:
There are many local people who want to help our student so the school can survive.

Reporter:
Next year, two children in the Onami district will reach school age, raising hopes that the school has a future.

(LinkAsia: April 5, 2013)
Thuy Vu:
While much of Asia is looking anxiously at the two Koreas, China, Pyongyang's only friend, seems more worried about what's going on at home. There's been an outbreak of a new strain of bird flu in eastern China. Although the number of infections is still small, public health officials in China are on high alert, and the US-based Centers for Disease Control are trying to find a vaccine. Here's Japan's public broadcaster, NHK.

--

NHK World NEWSLINE
Airdate: April 5, 2013

Reporter:
The latest bird flu infections emerged in Shanghai. Two men who died from the virus in the city developed fevers, coughs and other symptoms in February. In March, a woman in Anhui province came down with the flu. Four more cases were also confirmed in Jiangsu province. Two more cases were confirmed in Zhejiang province this week. Officials say one of the patients has died. Another five cases were announced on Thursday in Shanghai and Zhejiang. Three deaths have been confirmed. The 44-year-old woman infected in Anhui province worked on processing birds for human consumption.The manager of the market where she works said health officials visited the market, disinfected, and tested workers blood.

Market Manager:
She was very healthy. I don't know much about what has happened to her.

Reporter:
One of the victims in Shanghai reportedly sold pork. But local health officials say they are still investigating the infection route.

Xu Jianguang:
We've asked health institutions to file daily reports on patients who've developed pneumonia of unknown origin.

Reporter:
Following the recent infection, the government ordered health officials across the country to check patients who've developed pneumonia from unknown origins. It also ordered swift and accurate information disclosure. A doctor specializing in infectious diseases said that the central government should show responsibility and take prompt measures.

Jiang Suchun:
It has been expanding to several provinces. We should watch closely how the situation develops. The infection is expected to expand further. The important thing is we make use of our past experience in our assessment of the situation. We should provide doctors with the information we have. In addition, it's vital that we educate chicken farmers and other people on how to deal with birds. And how to prevent infection.

--

Thuy Vu:
In Japan, a housing story of another kind. Authorities have eased restrictions on people visiting a town near the stricken Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant. Here's NHK.

--

NHK World NEWSLINE
Airdate: April 1, 2013

Reporter:
All 21,000 former residents of Namie are still unable to live within the town limits. More than two years have passed since a massive earthquake and tsunami set off a crisis at the nuclear plant. People who have homes in low radiation zones are now allowed to visit them during daylight hours. More than 80 percent of the former residents will be able to take advantage of the new rules. Michio Tanaka and his wife now live in another city in Fukushima prefecture. They spent their Monday visit cleaning their home.

Michio Tanaka:
I hope the government will speed up its efforts so all of us can live in the town together again.

Reporter:
Town officials say they hope to complete decontamination work, restore infrastructure, and make some parts of the town habitable within four years.

(LinkAsia: September 7, 2012)
Yul Kwon:
In Japan, public opinion is turning toward a complete "build-down" of nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima-Daiichi meltdown. Polls show half the population wants to shut-down all the country's reactors within 15 years. Now, the government's put a price tag on a non-nuclear future. Japanese public broadcaster, NHK, reports that the industry minister says it'll cost 600 billion dollars.

--

NHK World NEWSLINE
Airdate: September 4, 2012

Reporter:
Yukio Edano spoke at a meeting of cabinet ministers in charge of energy policy. He said the cost of building renewable energy infrastructure would add up. He pointed to the expense of constructing generating facilities and power lines. Edano warned that immediately shutting down reactors would cut the power supply by 30 percent. He said going non-nuclear would weaken the countries bargaining position when buying oil and natural gas. The government has promised to draft a new energy policy. Ministers are working on scenarios for ending nuclear dependence while compensating for lost power generation. 

--

Yul Kwon:
The disaster at Fukushima has rippled through other countries in Asia. South Koreans are nervous about building more reactors to add to the 21 already in operation. And in Taiwan, the government just held a big drill to show its readiness in case of an accident with one of the country's six reactors. Here's NHK with the story.

--

Reporter:
Workers played out an emergency scenario at the nuclear complex near Taipei. They assumed a natural disaster knocked out all power at the plant and disabled its cooling system.  Firefighters sprayed water to practice bringing a fire under control. Then helicopters, military vehicles and patrol ships moved in.

Helicopter teams are measuring radiation levels around the nuclear power plant just as crews did following the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear accident. 

Participants practiced measuring radiation on land and sea too. The exercise follows a decision to expunge the area around the nuclear plant subject to radioactive monitoring.  Most reactors are located in the vicinity of densely populated Taipei, and the residents have been increasingly worried after the disaster in Fukushima. Officials at Taiwan's nuclear power regulator say they want to minimize the damage in the event of an accident.  They plan to reinforce the evacuation plans to ensure residents are safe. Naoki Makita, NHK World, Taipei.

(LinkAsia: August 31, 2012)
Yul Kwon:
Over in Japan, the concerns of anxious parents are finally being heard. Japan is conducting thyroid tests on more than four thousand children who live outside Fukushima prefecture. The test results will be compared with those of children living within the area surrounding last year’s nuclear disaster. According to Japanese broadcaster, NHK, the goal is to reassure parents in Fukushima. 

--

NHK World NEWSLINE
Airdate: August 27, 2012

Reporter:
Healthcare professionals discovered lumps in the thyroid glands of 1 in 3 children in the prefecture. Radioactive iodine released from Fukushima-Daiichi can accumulate in the glands of children and raise their risk of developing cancer. So healthcare professionals are testing all children aged 18 or younger. They had checked 38,000 of them by the end of March. They didn't diagnose anyone with cancer, but they found lumps in the thyroid glands of 36% of those tested. Prefectural officials explained that lumps can be found in healthy children. Still, parents were concerned. Thyroid checks will now be conducted on 4500 children in three areas outside Fukushima. Researchers will compare the data with the results from Fukushima.

(LinkAsia: May 4, 2012)
Yul Kwon:
Over in Japan, power company officials are looking ahead to the summer, and they're already sweating. If this summer is anything like the record one from 2010, they say electricity shortages will be inevitable unless they can restart a number of nuclear reactors that have been shut down for maintenance this past year. NHK explains what's going on.

--

NHK World NEWSLINE
Airdate: May 1, 2012

Reporter:
They are currently 50 nuclear reactors in Japan. Over the last year, those that were still in service were taken offline for inspections one after another. The only one still in operation is Hokkaido Electric's Tomari plant, but it too will be shut down for regular inspection this coming Saturday. Japan's nine power companies have released their estimates for supply and demand this summer. They assume temperatures this year would reach the record highs of 2010. The estimates suggest Hokkaido, Kansai and Kyushu electric power companies will all face shortages. The situation is especially serious for Kansai Electric, which is the most dependent on nuclear power.

Kansai Electric Power Company Official:
A summer as hot as in 2010 will generate a power demand of 30.3 kilowatts, but we will be 16.3 percent short.

Reporter:
The analysts predicted corporations and consumers would contribute to efforts to save power, including the Cool Biz campaign. Demand could exceed supply if the summer turns out to be hotter than expected, resulting in blackouts. Utilities imposed planned blackouts last year to prevent such a situation. That forced many factories to curb production and had a significant impact on peoples' lives.

Yul Kwon:
Now in an effort to produce more energy, Japanese government officials are planning to restart two nuclear reactors at the Ohi plant in central Japan. But ever since last year's nuclear disaster in Fukushima-Daiichi, Japanese consumers have been concerned about nuclear safety, and so are local officials, who are pushing back on the national government's plan to restart the reactors.

Reporter:
Kiyoshi Yamada heads Tokyo's crisis management team. He met with Tetsui Yamamoto, a senior representative of the government's nuclear and industrial safety agency. Yamamoto explained that the government is dedicated to putting new safety standards in place following the accident at Fukushima-Daiichi. That explanation wasn't enough for Yamada.

Kiyoshi Yamada, Kyoto Official:
Your explanations are inconsistent with our demands.

Reporter:
Government officials decided last month that the Ohi reactors need to be restarted to provide sufficient power to the region during the summer. The reactors are now offline for regular checkups.

(LinkAsia: April 20, 2012)
Yul Kwon:
Now we all know that Asia is prone to earthquakes, and two decades ago, the Philippines faced its own 7.8-magnitude quake in Luzon that killed more than 1,600 people. And now, a year after Japan's deadly 9.0 earthquake, some evacuees are being allowed to return to the No Go Zone for the first time. Here's the story from NHK.

--

NHK World NEWSLINE
Airdate: April 18, 2012

Reporter:
Japan's central government lifted entry restrictions for the 20-kilometer evacuation zone covering Kawauchi village and Tamura city this month. The government added Minamisoma city to the list.

Residents can visit most of the city, but not the high-radiation areas deemed unsafe for extended periods of time. Overnight stays are not yet allowed.

Resident Yoshikazu Takeuchi went to his home with his wife and mother. After the evacuation, Takeuchi ran his construction materials store at a different location in the city. He says he hopes to reopen the store at its original location now that the entry ban has been lifted.

Yoshikazu Takeuchi, Minamisoma Resident:
"Reconstruction has finally started. I hope we can work together so that people can return to the city and live there again."

Reporter:
Much more work has to be done around the damaged nuclear power plant before residents can return to the city to live. Full-fledged efforts to clean up debris, decontaminate and restore infrastructure have yet to begin.

Katsunobu Sakurai, Minamisoma Mayor:
"We will tell the central government that it's responsible for the lack of infrastructure and for providing compensation for damages from the nuclear accident."

--

Yul Kwon:
The city's network of hospitals and clinics is one important part of Minamisoma's infrastructure recovery. At one point after the nuclear crisis, the number of doctors in the Minami-Soma Municipal General Hospital fell from twelve to just four.

(LinkAsia: March 9, 2012)
Yul Kwon:
Last March, a terrible earthquake registering 9.0 on the Richter scale hit Japan, triggering a massive tsunami and leading to a disaster at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant. More than 15,000 people died, and about 3,300 other people are still missing. As part of our series on the fallout from the Fukushima disaster, we bring you this story from Miyagi prefecture, where more than 300 people are still unaccounted for. NHK follows the story of one man who struggled with a difficult decision after the disappearance of his son.

--

NHK World NEWSLINE
Airdate: March 5, 2012

Reporter:
On a cold day in February, Shun Makino shows us where he once lived.

Shun Makino, Noritaka's Father:
There was a bathroom here. And my son's house was over there.

Reporter:
A house that sheltered generations of his family. Now, just a foundation. But, Makino lost much more on that day. His son, Noritaka, who was a town official in Minamisanriku. The March 11th tsunami swept Minamisanriku. Noritaka was a man with the officials at the local government disaster control center, helping with rescue operations. The water started to flood the three-story building. The officials ran to the roof, but the tsunami swallowed the structure whole. It swept away Noritaka and about 30 others.

Masami Chiba, Neighbor:
Noritaka was honest, sincere and modest.

Reporter:
He could be called courageous as well. Noritaka wasn't even supposed to be at the disaster center. He'd been in the hills around Minamisanriku conducting a forest survey when the quake hit. He descended immediately and went straight to the disaster control center. He wanted to help any way he could.

Shun Makino:
He probably felt responsible as a town official. But I believe he shouldn't have run toward the tsunami.

Reporter:
Makino, along with other families, searched daily for any information on the whereabouts of the missing after March 11th.

Shun Makino:
I read the inquiries of about 5,000 people. Soon I was overwhelmed. I felt helpless and finally gave up.

Reporter:
He gave up, but he still hoped that authorities would find his son's body. However, days and months passed without any news. So in February, Makino made the difficult decision to hold a funeral. He wanted to honor his son ahead of the first anniversary of his disappearance. Noritaka's wife put songs and letters written to him by his children into an urn in place of his ashes.

Shun Makino:
How depressing, to honor my son, I have to hold a funeral without his ashes. But if I don't, I feel my son cannot rest in peace.

Reporter:
And so, reluctantly, Makino said goodbye to his son, but he's still waiting for closure.

Shun Makino:
I am hoping DNA tests identify my son soon. I'm expecting that will happen. I cannot bear to think my son's body is lying somewhere unattended.

Reporter:
Makino, like many others in the northeast, will continue to do what they've done for months now. Wait. And perhaps reflect on all that they lost one year ago. Daisuke Azuma, NHK World, Minamisanriku.