POST

Fukushima

Wednesday August 17th, 2011

Following the March 9.0 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami on the northeast coast of Japan, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant began to fail. These equipment failures led to a nuclear meltdown and the release of toxic radioactive particles into the area. A nuclear emergency was declared and the world watched with bated breath as the area was evacuated. Over a month after the initial incident, the Japanese government declared that the evacuation zone be expanded to 20km (around 12 miles). No one is allowed into this area without police permission.

Photographer Max Hodges, undaunted by radiation levels, decided he wanted to document the disaster area. Finding it hard to to obtain police permission, he set out on his own on a bicycle tour across the exclusion zone,

I road up to the area with a Dutch writer who was hoping to sneak in, but we found it impossible to gain access by car. I had my bike in the car, so when they returned to Tokyo, I cycled across Iitate — an area heavily-affected by radiation (and spent a night sleeping in a farmer’s greenhouse) — then proceeded to Minamisoma, a town just outside the 20km exclusion zone’s northern perimeter. I managed to sneak in by carrying my bicycle across some farmland, and road across the entire 40km diameter to the south.

"During my bicycle ride across the exclusion zone, I found this dead cow. Many cows have free rein over gardens and access to fresh water from mountain springs, but this one appears less fortunate and likely died of dehydration."

Once inside the exclusion zone Max began to take in his surroundings,

As soon as you enter the zone you feel something is not quite right. The lack of people is somehow palpable. Homes and stores have been shuttered, and properties are being overtaken by weeds and wild flowers. The experience was especially intense because my senses were in heightened state of alert out of concern for being discovered. Just when I thought I was deep enough inside the zone to relax a little, I heard a car approaching and had to dive for cover as a convoy of Japanese Self-Defense Force vehicles drove by. The situation was pretty stressful at times.

SDF workers search flooded rice fields for bodies—nearly two months after the tsunami.

Max’s initial idea was to document the stories of the thousands of abandoned homes, pets and livestock, but soon met Shoji Kobayashi who had remained in the exclusion zone since the initial disaster, and the project focus became about this man who refused to leave his home.

Kobayashi has been taking over this wife's gardening since the disaster. Here he removes some cabbage for dinner.

Max told me more about Kobayashi,

Shoji Kobayashi worked as a maintenance man at a high-tech electronics manufacturing facility. Although the town of Odaka is only about 15 kilometers from the Daiichi reactor, it was only lighly-affected by radiation because of it’s location and how the wind was blowing at the time of the leaks. Kobayashi doesn’t believe it was necessary to evacuate the town at all, so he simply remained living in his home for a couple months until he was eventually forced out.

I first bumped into him while taking photos in Odaka and trying to find a dog that I heard barking. He invited me to come to his home for a hot meal, a shower and a place to sleep for the night. I stayed with him for a couple nights and have returned and stayed with him at his current apartment. I’ve known him for three months now, and plan to continue staying with this story as his life unfolds within this great tragedy.

He seemed to really enjoy living in his home, more than in the small apartment where he now stays. But he seems to be adjusting well. Kobayashi has a great sense of humor, which his probably of the best survival skills one could have in these circumstances.

Max spent five days in the exclusion zone, photographing his surroundings and learning more through his time with Kobayashi. You can view more of Max’s images here.