Exactly four years ago today,... Japan was hit with a massive earthquake and tsunami that claimed so many lives and destroyed three reactors at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.<br />The clean-up efforts have continued in the region but residents there still worry about radiation levels.<br />Sohn Jung-in reports. <br />Life is gradually returning to normal in the disaster-stricken Fukushima region, as workers continue their efforts to clean up the area and lower radiation levels.<br />Kawauchi, located within 20 kilometers of the Fukushima power plant, is one of the villages that has had its evacuation advisory lifted since the meltdown disaster four years ago, but only 7 of its 274 former residents have decided to return.<br />It's hard to say whether the town will ever be the same.<br /><br /><br />"I've told my son to return to the village with his family, but I can't force them as it is ultimately their decision."<br /><br />Over 117,000 former residents from Fukushima are reluctant to return home due to fears of high radiation levels. <br />And the potential long-term implications, including cancer, are causing more concern.<br />The number of children diagnosed with thyroid cancer is increasing in Japan, with more than 100 confirmed or suspected cases after tests of nearly 400,000 children.<br />Before the disaster, there were just one to two cases of thyroid cancer in a million among Japanese children.<br /><br />Another concern is the treatment of farmland that remains contaminated with higher-than-natural levels of radiocesium in some regions.<br />With no distinct plans to address the problem, efforts to decontaminate the soil are generating a massive amount of radioactive waste, which is packed into black bags and moved to temporary sites.<br />Some Japanese people still remain doubtful about what the government is telling them about radiation levels and safety, saying the government has failed to protect them.<br />Sohn Jung-in, Arirang News.
