Iitate, Fukushima
Encyclopedia
is a village
located in Sōma District, Fukushima
, Japan
.
As of 2003, the village has an estimated population
of 6,858 and a density
of 29.80 persons per km². The total area is 230.13 km².
On 22 April 2011, the Japanese government asked residents to leave Iitate due to radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
.
, the site of the nuclear accident
that followed the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
.
On 30 March 2011, the International Atomic Energy Agency
stated that its operational criteria for evacuation were exceeded in Iitate, despite the village being outside the existing 30 kilometre radiation exclusion zone around the plant. The IAEA advised the Japanese authorities to carefully assess the situation there.
On 1 April 2011, it was reported that above statement was updated as "Radiation measured at a village 40 kilometre from Japan's crippled nuclear plant is falling by the day / But while the amounts of radioactive iodine particles detected in the soil at Iitate village appeared to be declining from high levels, the overall situation at Fukushima remained very serious.", with IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano's comment "It would take more time than people think"
On 22 April 2011, the Japanese government asked residents to leave within a month. Some displaced children from the village were shunned after relocating for fear of contamination. In early June about 1,500 residents remained, but by August only about 120 residents, mostly elderly, remained.
Villages of Japan
A is a local administrative unit in Japan.It is a local public body along with , , and . Geographically, a village's extent is contained within a prefecture....
located in Sōma District, Fukushima
Fukushima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region on the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Fukushima.-History:Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Fukushima prefecture was known as Mutsu Province....
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
As of 2003, the village has an estimated population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of 6,858 and a density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
of 29.80 persons per km². The total area is 230.13 km².
On 22 April 2011, the Japanese government asked residents to leave Iitate due to radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
The is a series of equipment failures, nuclear meltdowns, and releases of radioactive materials at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011. The plant comprises six separate boiling water reactors originally designed by General Electric ,...
.
2011 earthquake and tsunami
Iitate is about 39 kilometre north-west of Fukushima I Nuclear Power PlantFukushima I Nuclear Power Plant
The , also known as Fukushima Dai-ichi , is a disabled nuclear power plant located on a site in the towns of Okuma and Futaba in the Futaba District of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. First commissioned in 1971, the plant consists of six boiling water reactors...
, the site of the nuclear accident
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
The is a series of equipment failures, nuclear meltdowns, and releases of radioactive materials at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011. The plant comprises six separate boiling water reactors originally designed by General Electric ,...
that followed the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
.
On 30 March 2011, the International Atomic Energy Agency
International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...
stated that its operational criteria for evacuation were exceeded in Iitate, despite the village being outside the existing 30 kilometre radiation exclusion zone around the plant. The IAEA advised the Japanese authorities to carefully assess the situation there.
On 1 April 2011, it was reported that above statement was updated as "Radiation measured at a village 40 kilometre from Japan's crippled nuclear plant is falling by the day / But while the amounts of radioactive iodine particles detected in the soil at Iitate village appeared to be declining from high levels, the overall situation at Fukushima remained very serious.", with IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano's comment "It would take more time than people think"
On 22 April 2011, the Japanese government asked residents to leave within a month. Some displaced children from the village were shunned after relocating for fear of contamination. In early June about 1,500 residents remained, but by August only about 120 residents, mostly elderly, remained.