Six years after the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami struck Japan, the evacuation zone around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant remains devoid of humans—but the boars have moved in. Reuters reports that after the people left, wild boars living in the nearby hills came down to the towns and made themselves at home. Now, the Japanese government is preparing to lift evacuation orders in some areas, but residents have voiced concerns about the dangers of encountering wild boars in their streets and backyards. A small group of local hunters have been assigned to catch and kill the boars, further preparing the way for residents to return home.
The Wild Boars of Fukushima
Hints:
View this page full screen.
Skip to the next and previous photo by typing j/k or ←/→.
-
![]()
Read moreA wild boar stands in a residential area in an evacuation zone near Tokyo Electric Power Co's tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Namie town, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, on March 1, 2017. #
Toru Hanai / Reuters -
-
![]()
Read moreA house damaged by the March 11, 2011 tsunami, in the evacuation zone in Namie town, on February 28, 2017. #
Toru Hanai / Reuters -
![]()
Read moreA wild boar walks on a street in deserted Namie, Japan, on March 1, 2017. #
Toru Hanai / Reuters -
![]()
Read moreMembers of Tomioka Town's animal control hunters group hold a meeting before setting traps for wild boars at a meeting place in Tomioka, Japan, on March 2, 2017. #
Toru Hanai / Reuters -
-
![]()
Read moreShoichiro Sakamoto, head of Tomioka Town's animal control hunters group, patrols in a residential area in Tomioka on March 2, 2017. #
Toru Hanai / Reuters -
![]()
Read moreA wild boar, caught in a trap in Tomioka, on February 28, 2017. #
Toru Hanai / Reuters -
![]()
Read moreA trapped wild boar chews on the cage in Tomioka on February 28, 2017. #
Toru Hanai / Reuters -
-
![]()
Read moreA house damaged by the March 11, 2011 tsunami, near TEPCO's tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Namie, on February 28, 2017. #
Toru Hanai / Reuters -
![]()
Read moreA wild boar roams through Namie town on March 1, 2017. #
Toru Hanai / Reuters -
![]()
Read moreA Geiger counter, measuring a radiation level of 0.106 microsievert per hour, at a temporary housing complex that accommodates nuclear evacuees from Namie town, on February 27, 2017. #
Toru Hanai / Reuters -
-
![]()
Read moreA member of Tomioka Town's animal control hunters group holds a pellet gun to kill wild boars caught in a trap in Tomioka town on March 2, 2017. #
Toru Hanai / Reuters -
![]()
Read moreMembers of Tomioka Town's animal control hunters group take a photo of wild boars they killed in a residential area inside the evacuation zone near TEPCO's tsunami-crippled nuclear power plant in Tomioka town, Japan, on March 2, 2017. #
Toru Hanai / Reuters
We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.