About 12,000 people will be able to return to their homes near the troubled nuclear plant in Fukushima Daiichi after the Japanese government lifted the evacuation order for the entire city of Minamisoma.
The decision, which is awaiting approval from the local council, will allow the return of the largest number of people to the municipalities included in the restricted area around the plant owing to the nuclear disaster in 2011.
Minamisoma, with a population of 46,000, is located north of Fukushima Daiichi, and the southern and western part of the city is still under the evacuation order, affecting around 11,700 people.
The government has decided to lift the restriction after completing the decontamination work in the residential and surrounding areas, a government spokesperson told state broadcaster NHK.
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The problem with this article lies in unassuming word choices, such “will be allowed,” with respect to the return of residents of Minamisoma. The article assumes that residents want to return; it ignores that fact that many remain worried about their own and especially their children’s health. Without any reference to such tension, journalism abets the writing of history convenient to the holders of power.