Fifteen years post the Great East Japan Earthquake, a significant decline in the working-age population in Fukushima and neighboring regions highlights the ongoing risks and impacts of nuclear disasters.
Fifteen years after the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, the population in the affected areas continues to dwindle, particularly among the youth and working-age groups. Recent analyses reveal a staggering 17% decline in the economic activity population (ages 15-64) in Fukushima, Iwate, and Miyagi prefectures compared to pre-earthquake levels, a decrease nearly double the national average. With the current total population around 2.3 million, this reflects a loss of over 264,000 residents, indicating that younger demographics are increasingly relocating away from these 'dying cities' despite significant investment by the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company in decommissioning and recovery efforts.
