"Fukushima towns seek to protect historic sites ahead of hosting waste facilities"

As reported by the Asahi Shimbun, local officials and historians from Okuma and Futaba -- the host towns of the sprawling, and wrecked, Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant -- will don radiation protection suits and comb the countryside. They are striving to document historic (and pre-historic) cultural heritage sites, in an effort to prioritize their preservation.

The national government of Japan is targeting the two towns to host an interim storage site for radioactively contaminated debris generated by clean-up efforts across Fukushima Prefecture.

As the article reports: "According to the central government’s blueprint, the planned site will occupy 16 square kilometers [6.2 square miles] --11 square km [4.25 sq. mi.] in Okuma, or 15 percent of the town’s overall land area, and 5 square km [1.9 sq. mi.] in Futaba...Although the Fukushima prefectural government as well as Okuma and Futaba town halls have yet to decide on the proposed facilities, the central government plans to start shipments of waste in January." (emphasis added)

One ancient cultural heritage site was discovered after a 25 year search:

"Kiyoe Kamata, a 71-year-old historian from Okuma, said he is taking part in the on-site inspection to help preserve Miwatarijinja, a small Shinto shrine."

Ironically, Kamata had organized a sunset viewing event at the shrine, which was to have taken place a week after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear catastrophe began.

The article reports: "To keep alive the memory of their local cultural heritage, Kamata, who now lives as an evacuee in Sukagawa in the prefecture, published a book at his own expense and gave 500 copies to Okuma residents who scattered across the nation after the nuclear accident. With a flood of requests for copies, 300 more were printed."

“If we can maintain the shrine, the bond between locals may remain strong,” Kamata said.