Japan: Ten Years after Fukushima Disaster Many Still Worry about Radiation

When a huge earthquake and tsunami struck Japan on March 11, 2011, devastating towns and triggering nuclear meltdowns in Fukushima, a stunned world watched the chaotic struggle to contain the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.

An onslaught of waves sparked by the 9.0-magnitude quake crashed into the northeastern coast, killing nearly 20,000 people and crippling the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant. More than 160,000 residents fled as radiation spewed into the air.

At the time, some - including Prime Minister Naoto Kan - feared Tokyo would need to be evacuated, or worse.

"Fukushima is stamped for the rest of the history of nuclear energy," said Kiyoshi Kurokawa, head of an investigation that concluded the disaster was "profoundly man-made".

The government has spent about $300 billion (32.1 trillion yen) to rebuild the tsunami-devastated Tohoku region, but areas around the Fukushima plant remain off-limits, worries about radiation levels linger and many who left have settled elsewhere. Decommissioning of the crippled plant will take decades and billions of dollars.

Japan is again debating the role of nuclear power in its energy mix as the resource-poor country aims to achieve net carbon neutrality by 2050 to fight global warming. But an NHK public TV survey showed 85% of the public worries about nuclear accidents.

Energy policy was left in limbo after Shinzo Abe led his pro-nuclear energy Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) back to power the year after the disaster, ousting the novice Democratic Party of Japan, whose image was tainted by its handling of Fukushima.

"They sort of left things adrift," said Tobias Harris, senior vice president at consultancy Teneo and author of a book about Abe.

Kurokawa's...