Minamisōma
Minamisōma (南相馬市, Minamisōma-shi) is a Japanese city in Fukushima on the island of Honshu.
Minamisōma
南相馬市 | |
|---|---|
 Minamisōma City Hall | |
 Flag  Emblem | |
 Location of Minamisōmain Fukushima Prefecture | |
  Minamisōma | |
| Coordinates: 37°38′31.9″N 140°57′26.3″E / 37.642194°N 140.957306°E | |
| Country | Japan |
| Region | Tōhoku |
| Prefecture | Fukushima Prefecture |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Katsunobu Sakurai |
| Area | |
| • Total | 398.58 km2 (153.89 sq mi) |
| Population (1 October 2017) | |
| • Total | 55,580 |
| • Density | 140/km2 (360/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time) |
| - Tree | Japanese Zelkova |
| - Flower | Sakura |
| - Bird | Skylark |
| - Fish | Salmon |
| - Insect | Firefly |
| Address | 2-27 Motomachi, Haramachi-ku, Minamisōma-shi, Fukushima-ken 975-8686 |
| Website | Official website |
History
changeMinamisōma was formed on 1 January 2006 when three neighboring towns were merged in a new city -- Haramachi, Odaka, and Kashima.[1]
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
changeThe tsunami partly covered the city on 11 March 2011. It damaged the city severely. As of 9 April 2011, 400 residents were known to be dead and 1,100 missing.[2]
Minamisōma is about 25 km north of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Much of the city is in the area near the plant where people should not live. Most people in the city had to leave.[2] About a week after the earthquake, Minamisōma was in the news again as the town's mayor Katsunobu Sakarai complained about orders telling people still near the plant to stay in their homes. He said they had been 'abandoned'.[3]
In mid-summer 2011, tests found radioactive cesium above the legal limit in beef from Minamisōma.[4]
In 2012, plans were made to build solar plants on radiation-contaminated farmlands.[5]
In 2013, some critics complained that reports issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) were misleading. According to some public health experts, the health impact of nuclear fallout from the Fukushima nuclear disaster is under-estimated.[6]
References
change- ↑ Japan Geographic Data Center (JGDC), 伊達市（ダテシ） Archived 2012-01-07 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2013-3-11.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Associated Press, "Eerie quiet reigns in evacuation zone Archived 2012-12-19 at Archive.today", The Japan Times, 9 April 2011, p. 4.
- ↑ John M. Glionna (March 31, 2011). "Anger and abandonment in a Japanese nuclear ghost town". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 11 August 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
- ↑ "Excessive cesium found in 11 cows". Yomiuri Shimbun. 10 July 2011. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011.
- ↑ "Request made to build solar plant on contaminated farmland," Archived 2013-02-13 at the Wayback Machine Asahi Shimbun, 20 March 2011; "Japanese Town Hit Hard by Natural and Nuclear Disaster Imagines Renewable Future" at PBS NewsHour Archived 2014-01-21 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2013-3-11.
- ↑ "Activists fault WHO on Fukushima radiation," WAtoday (Australia). 12 March 2013. Retrieved 2013-3-11.
Other websites
change
Media related to Minamisōma at Wikimedia Commons
- Minamisōma City website (in Japanese)
- http://www.kokudo.or.jp/marge/c_prefecture.html Archived 2013-01-13 at the Wayback Machine
- Nakano Monument Archived 2012-01-24 at the Wayback Machine
Response to YouTube video for help:
- Japanese City’s Cry Resonates Around the World - New York Times, April 6, 2011
- Rebuilding Minami Soma - October 22, 2011
