NH #611: SPECIAL – Fukushima at 12: Voices from Japan – On the Ground w/Beverly Findlay Kaneko

Abandoned home, Tomioka, Fukushima Prefecture, five miles from Fukushima Daiichi. Tomioka resident Yuki Saito measures radiation in the weeds outside the home. Photo – Yuji Kaneko, used by permission of the photographer.

Fukushima 12th Anniversary: Voices from Japan, On the Ground w/Beverly Findlay-Kaneko

This Week’s Special Featured Interview:

Beverly Findlay-Kaneko provides an “on-the-ground in Japan” report on the current situation faced by people living with the aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Beverly lived in Yokohama, Japan, for 20 years until March 2011, after the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and the start of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.  She worked at Yokohama National University and The Japan Times.  Beverly has a Master’s degree in East Asian Studies from Stanford University and speaks Japanese fluently. She is the producer behind our Voices from Japan series and this year is the Voice from Japan.

I spoke with Beverly Findlay-Kaneko on February 27, 2023.

Links from the interview:

QR Code for Yonomori Denim

Links to Fukushima Anniversary materials:

Photos from Fukushima by Yuji Kaneko:

Tomarinkan Nuclear Energy PR Center, Tomari, Hokkaido: Beverly Findlay-Kaneko with the Tomarinkan Mascot cartoon character. (Nicknamed Mr. Nuclear Condom).
Photo – Yuji Kaneko, used by permission of the photographer.
Yonomori Denim Shop and Meeting Space, Tomioka, Fukushima Prefecture, five miles from Fukushima Daiichi. Beverly Findlay-Kaneko (front left) and Yuji Kaneko (rear left), meet with Yuki Saito (front right) and Sho Kobayashi.
 The “Nuclear Condom” and the pillar that marks the height of the sea wall at Tomari Nuclear Power Plant. It’s just one meter taller than the one at Fukushima.
Photo – Yuji Kaneko, used by permission of the photographer.
Abandoned Tsushima Elementary School Athletic Ground, Tsushima, Fukushima Prefecture. As one of the last towns to have evacuation orders lifted, Tsushima has been left behind in decontamination efforts. Bags like these, containing radioactive debris and soil, a rare sight in other parts of the prefecture, are ubiquitous here. Tsushima is, for all practical purposes, a ghost town.  Photo – Yuji Kaneko, used by permission of the photographer.
Denshoukan, the Great Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Museum, Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture. Fukushima is just over the hill, a couple of miles away. Student visitors to the museum flocking back to their tour busses.
Photo – Yuji Kaneko, used by permission of the photographer.
Denshoukan, the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Museum, Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture. Fukushima Daiichi is just over the hill, a couple of miles away. Beverly points out fleet of tour busses parked and waiting for high school students inside.
Photo – Yuji Kaneko, used by permission of the photographer.