- Title: JAPAN - CYCLING: Japan nuclear evacuee cycles for hope in Olympics.
- Date: 15th June 2012
- Summary: SHUZENJI, SHIZUOKA PREFECTURE, JAPAN (JUNE 12, 2012) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) MEMBER OF JAPAN'S NATIONAL CYCLE TEAM FOR LONDON OLYMPICS, KAZUNARI WATANABE, SAYING: "Thinking about the earthquake disaster and the great sufferings of so many people, I feel the pressure on me before the race is comparably marginal, which helps me ease my tension." WATANABE SEATED O
- Embargoed: 30th June 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Japan
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Disasters,Sports
- Reuters ID: LVAB4CHXV774W6DAI4PQR5UALYD9
- Story Text: For Japan's Olympic cyclist Kazunari Watanabe, medals are only a part og his aim for his races in London next month.
Being one of the victims of Fukushima nuclear accident, this 28-year-old professional keirin cyclist is set to devote his Olympics campaigns to encourage his hometown people and bring international attention to the on-going nuclear disaster.
Watanabe's parents' home in Futaba, Fukushima prefecture, where he grew up and had lived until only six months before the earthquake, lies just 3.2 kilometres (2 miles) from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
"I've never imagined this kind of accident can really happen," said Watanabe in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday (June 12) at a cycle stadium in Shuzenji, Shizuoka prefecture, where Japan's national team is training.
Watanabe was in the Tokyo when the March 2011 earthquake hit and watched the devastating scene on television with disbelief. He quickly tried to reach his parents and his sister living in Futaba. Fortunately, they were all unharmed.
Watanabe, who took up cycling when he was first at high school, made his keirin debut at the age of 19 and lived in Futaba until the fall of 2010 when he moved with his wife to his current training at Izu.
Now, 14 months after the earthquake, Futaba remains to be one of the 11 no-go zone towns and cities designated by the government as part of the contaminated area, where 86,000 former residents, including Watanabe's family, aren't allowed to return.
The cyclist said he couldn't concentrate at his racing for a while after the disaster, but now the horrifying memory gives him a new strength.
"Thinking about the earthquake disaster and the great sufferings of so many people, I feel the pressure on me before the race is comparably marginal, which helps me ease my tension," Watanabe said.
For the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the residents of Futaba celebrated and showed their support with banners put up at local shopping arcades for the young cyclist who helped Japan secure a sixth-place finish in the team sprint event. Such scene will not be seen this time around.
Instead, Watanabe hopes that him competing at the Olympics will give support and strength to the people in his hometown.
"I'll continue putting my best effort into my races, because I believe my competition gives courage and comfort to the people suffering from the nuclear disaster," Watanabe said.
"This is my life-long mission and the source of my energy to move on," he added.
According to a preliminary estimate announced recently by the Japanese government, 32 percent of residents currently forced out of their hometowns will be not be able to return home in five years time.
Nearly half of Futaba residents will not be able to return in 10 years time. For an ageing population of Futaba citizens, like many of Japan's suburban areas, the actual number of people who will ever make it home is expected to be lower.
And this reality is what Watanabe wants to shed light on through his 2012 Olympic races.
"The disaster in Fukushima is yet to be fully recovered, and with my races I want to remind the people around the world that the disaster is still on-going. I hope I can help to bring the attention back with a good result in the Olympic Games", Watanabe said.
On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered a massive tsunami that not only ripped through Tohoku's coastline, killing nearly 16,000 people, it also crashed in to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear plant, setting off a unprecedented nuclear crisis.
Three reactors melted down and radiation spewed widely through north eastern Japan, forcing tens of thousands of residents to evacuate from near the plant.
The government has said it could cost up to 1.15 trillion yen ($14.4 billion) to clean up the Fukushima Daiichi facility, with an area roughly the size of Luxembourg likely requiring decontamination - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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