JAPAN: Earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis evacuees granted special access to Imperial palace garden to view cherry blossoms and listen to a brass band

Record ID: 463007

  • Title: JAPAN: Earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis evacuees granted special access to Imperial palace garden to view cherry blossoms and listen to a brass band
  • Date: 9th April 2011
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF BAND EVACUEES LISTENING
  • Embargoed: 24th April 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan, Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
  • Reuters ID: LVA7UTXFWXLWG1ICYHIZD4Z6JQ6W
  • Story Text: A busload of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis evacuees living in a temporary shelter visited Japan's Imperial Palace garden on Friday (April 8) after the royal family invited them to view the cherry blossoms.
    Forty-two of them arrived on a bus and were led by volunteer guides through the garden where many types of cherry blossoms bloom.
    They walked slowly around the garden path, as guides described the various trees and the carps in the pond.
    The Imperial Palace brass band also serenaded the visitors. Unlike the East Gardens, this part of the palace grounds can be visited normally by invitation only.
    Most of the evacuees have been living in a sports stadium on the outskirts of Tokyo since shortly after March 11, when a massive earthquake and tsunami hit northeastern Japan. The double calamity struck a nuclear plant in the area, creating the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years.
    "My life was just a blank sheet in front of me (up till now), I couldn't really think about anything but when I heard the music I really felt that I can't stay down forever and that idea filled my head," said 36 year-old Hidetoshi Miyai, a company employee.
    Miyai's home is in Minamisoma city, one of the cities within the 20-km (12-mile) nuclear evacuation zone around the nuclear reactor. More than 70,000 people lived in the largely rural area within the 20 km zone. It is unclear how many of them have been evacuated, but most are believed to have left.
    Many ended up moving to the Ajinomoto stadium in western Tokyo.
    Others said the visit to the manicured garden made them homesick, especially since the nuclear situation is showing no signs of big improvement and they had no idea when they would be able to go home.
    "My hometown is in the countryside and we are fortunate to have a lot of greenery around us and I was reminded of my hometown," said 31 year-old Michito Anzai, from Tomioka, a town adjacent to the leaking Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
    Engineers are still struggling to stabilise the Fukushima plant, continuing cool-down efforts at the stricken reactors.
    Last month's 9.0 magnitude quake triggered tsunami waves along the northeast coast, wiping out towns and forcing 157,600 people to shelters around the country. About 28,000 people were killed or are missing. The disaster disrupted industry and affected supply chains around the world.
    A large aftershock hit the area on Thursday (April 7). Large parts of northeastern Japan, whose infrastructure was severely damaged by the March 11 quake and tsunami, were without electricity following the latest of many aftershocks, the biggest since last month's killer quake.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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