"On March 11 in 2011, a huge tsunami struck the Tohoku area in Japan. The extensive damage to Fukushima Prefecture was further compounded by the severe accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP). Specifically, the cooling system of the FDNPP was destroyed by the tsunami, leading to several explosions in the reactor buildings and subsequent massive diffusion of radioactive substances. The Japanese government decided to evacuate approximately 488?000 residents living within a 30?km radius of the FDNPP in the first 5?days after the accident. In spite of the gradual lifting of living restrictions within the evacuation zone, opinion surveys conducted by local governments showed that numerous former residents hesitated to return to their hometowns owing to fear of exposure to radioactivity, the delayed reconstruction and decontamination processes and unclear future of their hometown. For example, in Naraha, a municipality where the entire territory was placed under evacuation orders since 2011, the government recently lifted the living restriction. However, an opinion survey of evacuees conducted by the Naraha government office about the question of return revealed that only 8% wished to return as soon as possible. ..."'

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