Sensing the ghosts of the Fukushima nuclear disaster

Early Wednesday morning I traveled from Tokyo to Fukushima — about a four-hour drive — to cover the Canadian women's softball team playing its first game of the Olympics, a 4-0 win over Mexico.

The CBC driver transporting me and some Radio-Canada colleagues shared stories along the drive about what it was like to be in Japan 10 years earlier, when a horrific earthquake and tsunami rocked this country in March 2011. Nearly 20,000 people were killed and hundreds of thousands more were displaced. 

He told us about traveling to Fukushima three days after the earthquake to help bring in supplies to thousands of people who lost their homes — so many people lost everything. Even 10 years later they continue to rebuild the region and rebuild their lives.

We ended up getting about 40 kilometres away from where the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster played out as we made our way to the stadium. There was complete devastation and heartbreak all across this area. 

Yes, the Olympics are underway and the International Olympic Committee has said repeatedly it wants the Games to be a symbol of hope. Unfortunately for the people of Japan, there is no joy or celebration here as they've been locked out of the Games because of the ongoing pandemic and state of emergency.

My trip to Fukushima was a reminder of the lives lost in that disaster and the humanity that exists outside these cordoned off venues.