10 years ago, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, one of the largest in the world, was partially destroyed by a tsunami. Many inhabitants fled and a race against the clock to decommission and decontaminate began. But what's it like today?
ADVERTISEMENTIt has been 10 years since an undersea earthquake off the pacific coast of Japan triggered a powerful tsunami that devastated large parts of the country's northeast. One of the many casualties of the tsunami's waves was the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, north of Tokyo.
The power station had six reactors, two of which escaped the 15 metre high wave that struck the site. But the others have had to be cleaned up.
In the wake of the earthquake, the Japanese authorities and Tepco, the site operator, have spent years decommissioning and decontaminating the plant. It's meticulous, necessary work that has seen radioactive contamination drop dramatically, even entirely in some places.
We take a look at the measures used by Japan to protect and rehabilitate the zone around the plant, how the plant looks today and what can be learnt internationally from this catastrophe.
Euronews also speaks to specialists on nuclear plants and nuclear safety for analysis on the procedures in Fukushima, to understand the full scale of the work undertaken and its impact.
Residents have been moving back to the zone for several years. They give us their first-hand experience of living in the area close to the plant, how safe they feel and what it feels like to be home.
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