The People of Fukushima Bounce Back

Carrying On
Photograph by Everett Kennedy Brown, European Pressphoto Agency
In many ways, Fukushima, Japan, the site of the worst nuclear disaster in 25 years, is like no other place on the planet. Two years after an accident that led to a nuclear meltdown, the region is still plagued by residual radiation, high risks of cancer, and families still struggling with the economic and health effects from the accident, which was caused by a powerful offshore tsunami.
But human ingenuity has a way of moving in where it's needed most, and Fukushima is slowly growing into a new outpost of young, creative, and resilient people committed to reviving their broken region.
Here, Akie Hashimoto, a 28-year-old dollmaker, has continued her trade in her family's workshop in Koriyana, just 40 miles (64 kilometers) from the Fukushima power plant. Not one to leave her devastated city, Hashimoto has said that her family has been making dolls in Fukushima for 18 generations, according to the European Pressphoto Agency.
—Dan Stone
Published March 11, 2013
Growing Back
Photograph by Everett Kennedy Brown, European Pressphoto Agency
Toshiyasu Haga left Fukushima seven years ago to become a florist in Tokyo. Yet after the tsunami and subsequent nuclear accident in 2011, Haga returned to Fukushima to enliven the spirit of people in need of good news. Despite warnings in the region that heightened radiation could impact the health of humans and other wildlife, Haga's florist shop imports rare plants from other countries.
Published March 11, 2013
Expressive Art
Photograph by Everett Kennedy Brown, European Pressphoto Agency
Artist Jun Kaneko was born in Fukushima and has exhibited his art all over the world, including in Europe and the U.S. Yet he chose Fukushima City, just 40 miles (64 kilometers) from the infamous power plant, as the site of his studio—part of an effort to bring new artistic life and creativity to the recovering area.
Published March 11, 2013
A Healthy Baby
Photograph by Everett Kennedy Brown, European Pressphoto Agency
Japanese artist Jun Kaneko and his wife, Miki, became pregnant just one month prior to the Fukushima nuclear disaster. When their daughter was born healthy, they decided to stay in the area. Kaneko has said he travels frequently to Tokyo for art exhibitions, but continues to live and work about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from the power plant.
Published March 11, 2013
Demand for Music
Photograph by Everett Kennedy Brown, European Pressphoto Agency
At age 39, Masanori Itakura owns a record shop called Little Bird in Fukushima City. A popular DJ in the clubs of Tokyo, Itakura has remained in Fukushima City to live and run his business.
Published March 11, 2013
A Tradition of Silk
Photograph by Everett Kennedy Brown, European Pressphoto Agency
Aside from its global reputation for its nuclear accident, Fukushima has a historical reputation of being a hub of Japan's 400-year-old silk trade. Here, in Masako Suzuki's weaving studio, weavers make kimonos using fine silk threads from locally raised silk worms. With her business' success, Suzuki is able to employ a staff of five.
Published March 11, 2013
Papermaking
Photograph by Everett Kennedy Brown, European Pressphoto Agency
Just over 30 miles (48 kilometers) from the Fukushima plant, Japanese papermaker Sanyo Nishimori dries gampi, a material involved in making paper. Following the disaster, the local environment has provided ideal conditions for making paper. In the two years that have passed since the disaster, Nishimori says he has invested $130,000 into growing his papermaking business.
Published March 11, 2013
A Helpful Environment
Photograph by Everett Kennedy Brown, European Pressphoto Agency
In his papermaking studio, Sanyo Nishimo checks on the progress of some of his paper. He subjects the pulp to a series of treatments that Nishimo has said is ideal with the consistency of the air in post-Fukushima Japan. At age 44, he has chosen to remain in Fukushima despite many neighbors who left the region following the 2011 disaster.
Published March 11, 2013
Making Snake Dolls
Photograph by Everett Kennedy Brown, European Pressphoto Agency
Japanese paper dolls have a long tradition in Japan, which Masajo Hashimoto's family has been a part of for 18 generations. Just 25 miles (40 kilometers) from the Fukushima power plant, Hashimoto contines that tradition, creating papier-mache snake dolls in preparation for 2013, the year of the snake on the Chinese zodiac.
Published March 11, 2013
Artistic Handiwork
Photograph by Everett Kennedy Brown, European Pressphoto Agency
After the nuclear accident at the Fukushima powerplant, Yoshihisa Yabuuchi's family moved to a nearby prefecture. But with a successful eyeglass-making business, Yabuuchi decided to stay in Fukushima by himself. His construction methods are creative and extremely rare: He uses neither glue nor any metal parts, only fine quality wood and wooden pins.
Published March 11, 2013
Mushroom Growth
Photograph by Carlos Barria, Reuters
Takakazu Anzai had long grown shiitake mushrooms near Fukushima. Following the accident that left elevated levels of radiation in the air, Anzai began growing more of his mushrooms indoors to reduce the impact of radiation. This photo was taken just one month after the disaster, showing the resilience of people in Fukushima Prefecture.
Published March 11, 2013
See pictures of the nuclear cleanup struggle at Fukushima
Photograph courtesy Giovanni Verlini, IAEA
Published March 11, 2013