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Coming-of-Age ceremony held in Fukushima town hit by N-crisis

Participants sit with social distancing as a preventive measure against the Covid-19 coronavirus during a coming-of-age ceremony in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture on January 9, 2021. (AFP)
Participants sit with social distancing as a preventive measure against the Covid-19 coronavirus during a coming-of-age ceremony in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture on January 9, 2021. (AFP)
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10 Jan 2021 02:01:16 GMT9
10 Jan 2021 02:01:16 GMT9

NAMIE (Fukushima Pref): A coming-of-age ceremony was held on Saturday in a town hit by the severe accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power station almost 10 years ago.

Fifty-four people, who were elementary school fourth-graders at the time of the March 2011 accident, attended the ceremony held in the town of Namie in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.

Participants take off their face masks to take commemorative photos during a coming-of-age ceremony in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture on January 9, 2021. (AFP)

 

“I feel happy that I was able to take part in this coming-of-age ceremony in my hometown although we are experiencing a host of difficult challenges,” Ayumi Yoshida, 20, one of the new adults, said in a speech, showing her resolve to make contributions in return for the support she has obtained.

In his congratulatory message, Namie Mayor Kazuhiro Yoshida said: “You are all gifted and have a bright future. I want you to keep watching your hometown Namie.” To prevent infection with the novel coronavirus, participants wore face masks and sat apart from each other.

An evacuation order was issued for the whole of the town following the nuclear accident, which resulted from the March 11, 2011, powerful earthquake and tsunami, which hit Fukushima and nearby prefectures hard.

Rina Matsumoto, 20, another participant, has continued to attend Namie’s traditional dance event after evacuating to Miyagi Prefecture, next to Fukushima. “I was thinking about what I would talk with my old friends. I was concerned about the coronavirus outbreak, but I’m now really happy that the ceremony was held,” she said.

The evacuation order was lifted for part of the town in 2017. But the number of people who now live in the town totals some 1,500, or only 7 pct of the level before the disaster.

JIJI Press

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