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 Though the strict safety limits for outdoor activity set after
multiple meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in 2011
have now been eased, parental worries and ingrained habit mean many
children still stay inside.
And the impact, three years on, is now starting to show, with
children experiencing falling strength, lack of coordination — some
cannot even ride a bicycle — and emotional issues like shorter
tempers, officials and educators say.
"There are children who are very fearful. They ask before they eat
anything, 'Does this have radiation in it?' and we have to tell them
it's OK to eat," said Mitsuhiro Hiraguri, director of the Emporium
Kindergarten in Koriyama, some 55 km (35 miles) west of the
Fukushima nuclear plant.
"But some really, really want to play outside. They say they want to
play in the sandbox and make mud pies. We have to tell them no, I'm
sorry. Play in the sandbox inside instead."
Following the March 11, 2011, quake and tsunami, a series of
explosions and meltdowns caused the world's worst nuclear accident
for 25 years, spewing radiation over a swathe of Fukushima, an
agricultural area long known for its rice, beef and peaches.
A 30-km radius around the plant was declared a no-go zone, forcing
160,000 people from homes where some had lived for generations.
Other areas, where the radiation was not so critically high, took
steps such as replacing the earth in parks and school playgrounds,
decontaminating public spaces like sidewalks, and limiting
children's outdoor play time.
"There are children in the disaster-stricken areas who are going to
turn 3 tomorrow," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday. He
told a nationally televised news conference he wanted to invite as
many of them as possible to the 2020 Olympics, when they will be
fourth-graders, as a "symbol of reconstruction."
Any such revival looks a long way off.
"AVOID TOUCHING THE OUTSIDE AIR"
Koriyama recommended shortly after the disaster that children up to
2 years old not spend more than 15 minutes outside each day. Those
aged 3 to 5 should limit their outdoor time to 30 minutes or less.
These limits were lifted last October, but many kindergartens and
nursery schools continue to adhere to the limits, in line with the
wishes of worried parents.
One mother at an indoor Koriyama playground was overheard telling
her child: "Try to avoid touching the outside air".
Even 3-year-olds know the word "radiation".
Though thyroid cancer in children was linked to the 1986 Chernobyl
nuclear accident, the United Nations said last May that cancer rates
were not expected to rise after Fukushima.
Radiation levels around the Emporium Kindergarten in Koriyama were
now down around 0.12-0.14 microsieverts per hour, from 3.1 to 3.7
right after the quake, said Hiraguri.
This works out to be lower than Japan's safety level of 1,000
microsieverts a year, but levels can vary widely and at random,
keeping many parents nervous about any outdoor play.
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"I try to keep from going out and from opening the window," said
34-year-old Ayumi Kaneta, who has three sons. "I buy food from areas
away from Fukushima. This is our normal life now." CHILD STRESS ON
RISE
But this lack of outdoor play is having a detrimental effect on
Koriyama's children, both physical and mentally.
"Compared to before the disaster, you can certainly see a fall in
the results of physical strength and ability tests — things like
grip strength, running and throwing balls," said Toshiaki Yabe, an
official with the Koriyama city government.
An annual survey by the Fukushima prefecture Board of Education
found that children in Fukushima weighed more than the national
average in virtually every age group.
Five-year-olds were roughly 500 gm (1 lb) heavier, while the weight
difference grew to 1 kg for 6-year-old boys. Boys of 11 were
nearly 3 kg heavier.
Hiraguri said that stress was showing up in an increase of scuffles,
arguments and even sudden nosebleeds among the children, as well as
more subtle effects.
"There's a lot more children who aren't all that alert in their
response to things. They aren't motivated to do anything," he said.
Koriyama has removed decontaminated earth in public places,
sometimes more than once, and work to replace all playground
equipment in public parks should finish soon.
Yabe, at Koriyama city hall, said parental attitudes towards the
risk of radiation may be slowly shifting.
"These days, instead of hearing from parents that they're worried
about radiation, we're hearing that they're more worried because
their kids don't get outside," he said.
But Hiraguri said things are still hard.
"I do sometimes wonder if it's really all right to keep children in
Fukushima. But there are those who can't leave, and I feel strongly
that I must do all I can for them."
(Additional reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka;
writing by Elaine Lies; editing by Michael Perry)
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