Schools in no-go zone near Fukushima plant relocate, reopen

Updated on: Monday, September 05, 2011

Four schools and one kindergarten that had been shuttered in the no-entry zone within a 20-kilometer radius of the crisis-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant reopened after they relocated to a site about 50 kilometers away.

Two elementary schools, two junior high schools and a kindergarten run by the town of Tomioka on the Pacific coast in Fukushima Prefecture were transferred to the former office of a factory in the town of Miharu to the west of Tomioka.

A joint opening ceremony was held for the schools. They will serve a total of 54 students out of the about 1,400 who were enrolled for the year that began in April before the nuclear crisis erupted in March, according to the education board of Tomioka.

Elsewhere in the prefecture, 581 students left schools in the city of Fukushima due chiefly to concerns over radiation exposure, according to a Kyodo News tally.

In all of Fukushima Prefecture, where most public schools resumed classes after the summer vacation on Aug 25, 16 schools remain closed due to the nuclear accident triggered by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Meanwhile, a high school in Chiba Prefecture that was severely damaged by ground liquefaction following the natural disaster resumed classes the same day after restoration work was partially completed.

The prefectural Urayasu Minami High School, which had been temporarily relocated to the nearby city of Funabashi, was hit by ground subsidence and damaged water pipes. (Kyodo)

Schools in no-go zone near Fukushima plant relocate, reopen

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