Two Men Continue To Live In Japan's Nuclear Disaster Area Just To Take Care Of People's Pets

They're heroes!

Liezel

• Published in Animal Stories
• May 8, 2022

In 2011, a major earthquake that triggered a tsunami in Japan caused the second-worst nuclear accident in the history of nuclear power generation.

After the earthquake, a 15-meter tsunami disabled the power supply and cooling of three Fukushima Daiichi reactors which started the nuclear accident. After that, all three cores of the plant melted in the following three days.

The accident was rated a level 7 on the International Nuclear Radiological Event Scale because of high radioactive releases over 4-6 days and all four of the plant's reactors were written off because of the huge damage caused by the accident.

After two weeks, the three reactors were stabilized and nine months later, the government announced that the plant was in cold shutdown condition. There also have been no deaths or cases of radiation sickness from the nuclear accident, however, over 100 000 people were evacuated as a preventative measure.

Sadly, the evacuation was a rush, and many people were forced to leave behind their pets and livestock. Because of fear as well, these people couldn't simply return to their homes to take these animals.

Fortunately, there were brave souls who stayed behind solely to take care of these poor abandoned animals who had no one else.

After the nuclear meltdowns, people were evacuated for their own safety, however, there was no plan in place for the animals in the area.

Without much food and water or anyone to take care of them, people would think that the animals left behind had very little means to survive. However, a decade after the accident, researchers found out that wildlife populations were actually continuing to thrive in the area.

The most surprising part is that there was actually someone taking care of them.

After the evacuation, two men stayed behind in Fukushima to take care of the abandoned animals there.

These two men are Sakae Kato and Naoto Matsumura, unrelated to each other. They live within the 12.5-mile exclusion zone of the damaged reactor and from there, they take care of the stray animals who were left behind when the people left the town.

At first, Matsumura also fled the family just like everyone else.

“I didn’t mean to stay at first. I grabbed my family and escaped," he recalled.

Unfortunately, he was turned away by his relatives who lived in other cities because they were afraid of possible contamination. The evacuation camps didn't look pleasing as well because they were filling up fast and the resources were running short.

So, he came back and there he realized that the family's animals were still waiting to be fed.

“Our dogs didn’t get fed for the first few days. When I did eventually feed them, the neighbors’ dogs started going crazy. I went over to check on them and found that they were all still tied up. Everyone in town left thinking they would be back home in a week or so, I guess," he recalled.

Realizing that these animals had no one to look after them, he decided to stay and take care of them.

From then on, he has been feeding the cats and dogs of the place every day and he has become one of the caretakers of the animals in the abandoned city.

After returning, he was also concerned about the effects of radiation on his body. After all, exposure can cause cancer and other health problems but these days, he's not too worried anymore.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency told Matsumura that he probably won't get sick for a couple of years. They estimated that the effects of the radiation would kick in only after 30 or 40 years.

To this, he responded, “I’ll most likely be dead by then anyway, so I couldn’t care less.”

A lot of people wonder why he decided to return and stay given the risks and his answer is because of rage.

“I’m full of rage. That’s why I’m still here," the farmer said. "I refuse to leave and let go of this anger and grief. I weep when I see my hometown. The government and the people in Tokyo don’t know what’s really happening here.”

On the other hand, Kato chose to live in his home in the mountains. From there, he takes care of more than 40 cats and a stray dog he adopted.

He also feeds abandoned animals that pass by his place including local wild boars.

“I want to make sure I am here to take care of the last one. After that, I want to die, whether that be a day or hour later," Kato said.

Watch the video about them here:

These two men are definitely heroes. Despite the danger, they're still willing to risk their lives for what they believe in and to take care of the animals that have been left behind.

Not everyone would easily do that without something hefty in return that's why these two men are admirable. For them, the animals' lives simply matter.

Hopefully, people can learn a lesson from them.

Liezel