Naoto Matsumura: Guardian Of Fukushima’s Radioactive Animals
Naoto Matsumura was a resident of Fukushima when the devastating earthquake of 2011 hit. As we all know, people were required to exit Fukushima quick smart due to the massive smash-up that was inflicted on their nuclear power plant.
The area around Fukushima was completely stripped of its residents, and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Matsumura returned to the town some while after the explosions to collect his pets, when he visited he saw countless other abandoned pets and livestock and they tugged on his heartstrings.
Wildlife in the region will probably flourish now that humanity has jumped ship, much like it does in Chernobyl, but pets and livestock are too daft to fend for themselves. Having said that, the pigs will probably be OK, they’re well smart, as domesticated creatures go.
Matsumura decided to move back to the exclusion zone and began feeding all of the abandoned animals in the area. Every so often he leaves to buy more animal feed and visit his wife and child (who I assume aren’t particularly impressed with his lifestyle choice) but other than that he lives in isolation.
Japanese authorities tried to evict Fukushima’s only inhabitant in 2011 but he simply ran away and then later returned. I’m reading between the lines here but I think Matsumura just longed for the quiet life. I guess he’s found what he was looking for:
Follow his exploits on his…
