The traffic lights are still working; but just about nothing else is in the ghost town of Fukushima. Two years after the Japanese tsunami, the consequences of the nuclear disaster continue to define the residents’ lives. Radiation is an unseen force affecting the people, the land, and their livelihood. Life hasn’t been easy for those who stayed or those who left.

“Everyone is worried about the radiation,” says the mother of seven-year-old Chie. Children from the surrounding areas are not allowed to play outside, and cattle have developed a new disease. In one of the most contaminated places on earth, the continued fears over health risks mix with a sense of a betrayal by the government. “Japanese government policy is very strange. We have been deceived.” Despite voluntary efforts to revitalize the area by its residents, it seems there is little hope of reversing the fate of this radioactive wasteland. Is rebuilding Fukushima a reality or just a dream?

Fukushima Now : 2 years after Japan tsunami