23/04 Directive angers villagers / Farmers worried about caring for cattle after forced evacuation

The Yomiuri Shimbun

IITATEMURA, Fukushima--Residents being ordered to evacuate from areas outside a 20-kilometer radius of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in a month are venting their anger at the government.

The government's announcement of its evacuation directive Friday came only after it made areas within 20 kilometers around the plant a no-go zone at midnight Thursday.

Under the new directive, those living in areas designated as a "planned evacuation zone" and located outside the 20-kilometer radius have been ordered to leave their homes in about a month.

One village official said, "It'll be hard to get people to evacuate in a month."

Residents appeared at a loss what to do. "How can we leave our cattle behind when we evacuate?" one farmer said.

"It's a great pity," Iitatemura Mayor Norio Kanno said Friday morning after the directive was announced. "The nuclear accident ruined everything in a flash. I can't stand it."

Until the disaster, the village was making an effort to establish a local brand of Iitate beef as well as to become self-sustaining and not have to consider merging with other municipalities. Now the villagers will have to evacuate under the government's directive.

"I'm angry. It's really too bad. We'll definitely have to revitalize [the village] somehow," Kanno said.

Iitatemura called on the central government not only to ensure the safety of the villagers but also help them find or keep their jobs and maintain their livelihoods in the days ahead. However, the villagers do not expect the government to live up to their hopes.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano did not make any positive remarks at a press conference that would address the village's anxieties.

Michio Furukawa, mayor of Kawamatamachi, part of which falls within the planned evacuation zone, said, "One month isn't long enough to relocate factories and livestock."

Cattle farmers are particularly upset.

"What do they mean planned evacuation? It's not planned at all," Iitatemura farmer Kenichi Takano, 60, said in disgust as he watched a news report about the government's directive on TV.

He has about 40 cows and calls them his "family."

The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry plans to fully compensate for livestock losses in the nuclear crisis.

But Takano said: "It's impossible to gather such a herd of well-bred cows. If we take shelter nearby, we'll have leave the cows here and commute to take care of them. If we can't do that, we'll go out of business."

Recently he turned over ownership of the livestock to his eldest son, Kensaku. "I was looking forward to future business," Takano said.

Meanwhile, looking after calves at a nearby cattle shed, Kensaku, 34, mumbled, "I just hate TEPCO," referring to Tokyo Electric Power Co., the nuclear power plant's operator.

(Apr. 23, 2011)