Cultural Resources left behind the Evacuated zone of FUKUSHIMA

11,Mar,2011, the largest Tsunami hit Fukushima No.1 Nuclear Plant. The plant lost its emergency maintenance system and finally spilled out radioactive by hydrogen explosion. Japanese government had blockaded contaminated area, more than 100,000 inhabitants was evacuated from their home.
After 1 year and half, 78,000 people are still evacuated from their home. Once Japanese government has claimed that people will be able to return within 1 year. But now, they say it is necessary at least 5 years- another authorities say it must be 50 years and more... The FUKUSHIMA issue is not yet over.

And there are issues concerning with cultural resources, heritage management. A lot of cultural resources, museum collections, including archaeological material and historic documents are still left behind the evacuated zone. No one can maintain their condition, because of lack of electricity or other infrastructure, difficulty of access by persons in charge of, etc. It is concerned about damage or loss of important and sensitive material under inappropriate condition.

(Jomon pottery left at the storehouse of Tomioka Town, in the evacuated zone)

In this August, curators in charge of cultural resources and heritage management in Futaba County started rescue project of those material. What a hard work, without air-condition in a storehouse during Summer days. Even there is no light inside the facilities.

They must work with radioactive protection suit. The area is still highly contaminated.
Checking Geiger-counter, then packing pottery into containers. It isn't able to move any highly contaminated material to outside of the evacuated zone, even if it is the declared important cultural property.

In this time, they have rescued, transported series of  Late Feudal Era, so-called Edo period historic document and drawing maps (all original, written by ink on traditional papers), Early Modern photographs, typical archaeological and folklore materials. Finally those have been packed into 130 containers and removed to outside of the evacuated zone. All containers and material were checked and cleared their contamination level.

(a curator interviewed by TV crews, all they wore radioactive protection suits...)

This is a great achievement, but not a goal. There are still left behind a lot of cultural resources under inappropriate condition. No monuments nor architecture can remove to outside of evacuate zone. Prolonged evacuation may affect to maintain intangible cultural properties such as ritual ceremony, music in local festival, etc.
An accident on a nuclear plant affect broad range, and it destruct, delete local communities in a moment, nature, landscape, history and residents...
We must reconsider what will happen when an accident occurs. Because there is no PERFECT SAFETY on any artificial system.

(source: blog by a curator of Futaba County, original blog (in Japanese) is here)