Rice planting in Fukushima

Rice planting in Fukushima

Rice is planted in a paddy on May 23, 2025, in the Nagadoro area of Iitate in Fukushima Prefecture, which saw partial lifting in 2023 of the evacuation instruction imposed in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster. If the planted rice clears safety tests for radioactive materials when harvested, the Nagadoro area would be able to ship rice to the market for the first time since the nuclear disaster.

Rice planting in Fukushima

Rice planting in Fukushima

Rice is planted in a paddy on May 23, 2025, in the Nagadoro area of Iitate in Fukushima Prefecture, which saw partial lifting in 2023 of the evacuation instruction imposed in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster. If the planted rice clears safety tests for radioactive materials when harvested, the Nagadoro area would be able to ship rice to the market for the first time since the nuclear disaster.

Cherry blossoms in Iitate, Fukushima Pref.

Cherry blossoms in Iitate, Fukushima Pref.

FUKUSHIMA, Japan - Cherry blossoms are in full bloom in the Nagadoro district, where access has been limited following the 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, in Iitate Village, Fukushima Prefecture, on April 27, 2014.

Evacuee visits home in Iitate, Fukushima Pref.

Evacuee visits home in Iitate, Fukushima Pref.

FUKUSHIMA, Japan - Masato Takahashi jokingly demonstrates how cattle eat feed in his vacated barn in the Nagadoro district in Iitate Village, Fukushima Prefecture, on April 6, 2014. Takahashi lives in temporary housing in Fukushima City, about a one-hour drive from the village, after evacuating due to the 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Nuclear disaster-hit village reclassified into 3 areas

Nuclear disaster-hit village reclassified into 3 areas

IITATE, Japan - Officials (C) from the Cabinet Office lock fences on a road leading to the Nagadoro district of Iitate village, Fukushima Prefecture, past midnight of July 16, 2012. The village, nearly all of whose residents have been evacuated since the March 2011 nuclear accident, was reclassified July 17 into three areas with varying levels of accessibility. Due to the high level of radiation exposure, the Nagadoro district was classified as "an area difficult to return to" for a long period of time.

Nuclear disaster-hit village reclassified into 3 areas

Nuclear disaster-hit village reclassified into 3 areas

IITATE, Japan - Masato Takahashi, 75, who was born and brought up in the Nagadoro district of Iitate village, Fukushima Prefecture, grips a fence set up on a road leading to the district on July 16, 2012, before the government locks fences on roads leading to the district at midnight. "I feel like I am being locked up in prison even though I didn't do anything bad," he said. The village, nearly all of whose residents have been evacuated since the March 2011 nuclear accident, was reclassified July 17 into three areas with varying levels of accessibility. Due to the high level of radiation exposure, the Nagadoro district was classified as "an area difficult to return to" for a long period of time.

Nuclear disaster-hit village reclassified into 3 areas

Nuclear disaster-hit village reclassified into 3 areas

IITATE, Japan - Grass is being cut in the Nagadoro district of Iitate village, Fukushima Prefecture, on July 16, 2012, with a dosimeter (front) showing radiation levels of more than nine microsieverts per hour, before the government locks fences on roads leading to the district at midnight. The village, nearly all of whose residents have been evacuated since the March 2011 nuclear accident, was reclassified July 17 into three areas with varying levels of accessibility. Due to the high level of radiation exposure, the Nagadoro district was classified as "an area difficult to return to" for a long period of time.

Nuclear disaster-hit village reclassified into 3 areas

Nuclear disaster-hit village reclassified into 3 areas

IITATE, Japan - Workers decontaminate farmland in the Nagadoro district of Iitate village, Fukushima Prefecture, on July 16, 2012, before the government locks fences on roads leading to the district at midnight. The village, nearly all of whose residents have been evacuated since the March 2011 nuclear accident, was reclassified July 17 into three areas with varying levels of accessibility. Due to the high level of radiation exposure, the Nagadoro district was classified as "an area difficult to return to" for a long period of time.

Nuclear disaster-hit village reclassified into 3 areas

Nuclear disaster-hit village reclassified into 3 areas

IITATE, Japan - Residents of Iitate, a village in Fukushima Prefecture, visit their ancestors' graves in the village's Nagadoro district on July 16, 2012, before the government locks fences on roads leading to the district at midnight. The village, nearly all of whose residents have been evacuated since the March 2011 nuclear accident, was reclassified July 17 into three areas with varying levels of accessibility. Due to the high level of radiation exposure, the Nagadoro district was classified as "an area difficult to return to" for a long period of time.

Cherry blossoms in Iitate, Fukushima Pref.

Cherry blossoms in Iitate, Fukushima Pref.

FUKUSHIMA, Japan - Cherry blossoms are in full bloom in the Nagadoro district, where access has been limited following the 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, in Iitate Village, Fukushima Prefecture, on April 27, 2014. (Kyodo)