14 Years On: Ex-TEPCO Plant Worker Protecting Pets Left Behind
Namie, Fukushima Pref., March 6 (Jiji Press)--Toru Akama has been protecting feral pets left behind following the accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power station as he feels a sense of responsibility as a former worker of the plant in northeastern Japan.
Akama, 62, has set up temporary pet shelters at his home in the town of Namie in Fukushima Prefecture, home to the nuclear plant, and his parents' home, making efforts to find people to foster the feral pets.
After working in the Kanto eastern Japan region, Akama returned to his hometown and joined a TEPCO subcontractor to work at the nuclear plant and other facilities. Later, he set up a subcontracting firm himself.
Immediately after the March 2011 nuclear accident, he saw many dogs being left behind by evacuated residents. Akama said he felt responsible because the situation was caused by the accident at "our nuclear plant."
He stayed at home and began rescuing pets even after his family evacuated to the Fukushima city of Koriyama.
(2025/03/06-19:12)
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