I am in Fukushima again, my fifth trip here since the 3/11 disaster last year. Being here in August is more emotional than any other month of the year because historically August is full of intense meaning for Japan and Korea.
August 29th, 1910 was the day when the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty was officially announced after it was secretly and forcefully signed a week before on August 22nd. It was a treaty between the Empire of Japan and the Empire of Korea. Yes, Korea was an empire for a very short period, from 1897 to 1910. 1897 was just over a decade after Protestant missionaries came to Korea. A lot of efforts to westernize (or modernize) the nation were put in during these short years, until the Japanese colonization of Korean peninsula began officially. (On a side note, the biggest blessing out of the many tragedies that happened during this dark era of Korean history is that Korean Christians had to work very hard to make sense of their faith and expand their understanding of the bible and the God of the bible with very little help from outside, because the Cross did not come with swords like in many other nations of that time, but it was the power to resist the kingdom of swords.)
As we all know, Japan was defeated in World War II in August 1945 after the two tragic atomic bombings on August 6th in Hiroshima, and August 9th in Nagasaki. The Japanese emperor surrendered on August 15th, 1945, which brought Korea's independence on the same day. It was also the day the Parallel 38 was drawn by the Alliance (and then UN) between the North and South to demilitarize Japanese presence in the peninsula.
However, the treaty of 1910 was only brought to an end in 1965 by the Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea, which then became the root cause of current disputes and tension between Japan and Korea. This year, the two nations have had another intense August on the issue of Dok-Do (meaning: Island of solitude or isolation), Korea's easternmost territory and a couple other unresolved issues of the past. Political leaders of both nations are provoking unhealthy sensitivities all over again. Some experts believe that this is the greatest tension since 1965.
The Fukushima Dai-ichii nuclear disaster has now transformed into anti-nuke protests in Tokyo since March (around the first anniversary of the 3/11 disaster). Over ten thousand people gathered to protest earlier this month as Japan remembers the tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and now Fukushima. Thousands of people still gather in front of Prime Minister's Office every Friday.
I am in the small town of Nakoso in Fukushima, a coastal village located about 40 KM south of the crippled nuclear plant. Life on the ground seems to be moving very quietly here in Fukushima while voices of protest seem to echo louder in Tokyo, just like the energy produced by the Fukushima plants was only for people in Tokyo.
After Midori and I arrived here last week, we were told that Nakoso beach was the only beach in Fukushima that was open to the public for three weeks in August, the peak vacation season in Japan. But less than 10% of the number of visitors came when compared how many used to come here annually prior to the disaster. We went out for walks to the village and to the beach. More villagers seem to be back now than when we visited twelve months ago. Houses are fixed and shops are back in business.
No matter what is going on politically outside Fukushima at the moment, it is nevertheless a beautiful piece of God's creation in the tail end of another hot summer.
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| A long stretch of quiet beach, Nakoso |
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| Fukushima Thermal Power Plant |
Many people outside Japan mistakenly think that the Fukushima Dai-ichii plant, which is owned by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), was producing power for Fukushima. It was actually producing power for Tokyo. This small thermal plant in the photo produces electricity for Fukushima.
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| Weeds growing in a completely destroyed house |
As we were walking on the bank I noticed many houses were missing on the beachfront. Most houses were fixed and people had moved back in, but empty lots indicated the owners were missing. Some neighbours planted flowers and vegetables in the empty lots.
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| Tomato plants |
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| Sunflowers and lilies |
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| Tsunami warning house (?) - this is a new building that did not exist last year. |
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| Several houses were disappeared and the owners never came back. |
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| Local cemetery and a vegetable garden side by side in the village |
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| A house under renovation |
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| Fukushima now has the highest rate of abandoned land due to the radiation |
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| Some local farmers still planted vegetables and crops |
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| A local restaurant back in business (it was closed last year) |
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| Sunset in the neighbourhood |
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| Full moon |
