Operations resumed at village office near Fukushima nuke plant, schools to follow

KAWAUCHI, Fukushima -- Regular operations at the local village office have been resumed and elementary and junior high schools are set to reopen in April at this village that was completely evacuated due to the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant disaster.

The village is the second municipality after the town of Hirono that received instructions to evacuate but has now returned its government operations to its original location. Kawauchi's office had been operating out of an evacuation facility in Koriyama.

On the morning of March 26, around 30 of the village's 60 municipal employees appeared at a morning meeting in the village office. While busily handling paperwork brought in from Koriyama, they also attended to villagers who visited for help.

Shinroku Igari, 82, who came to the office for help with health insurance procedures, said, "It's nice that there are a lot of people at the office again." Mayor Yuko Endo was to visit in the evening to give the employees words of encouragement. Read More