Fukushima laments a recovery without Olympic witnesses
Jake Seiner
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, left, hands the ball to Yuma Takara, 14, during a pre-game ceremony before a baseball game between Japan and the Dominican Republic at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 28, 2021, in Fukushima, Japan. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
FUKUSHIMA – The bus transporting Olympic officials and media from downtown Fukushima to the suburban Azuma Baseball Stadium features a slickly produced video boasting of the region s recovery from a devastating 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown.
It includes images of ruin and reconstruction, recognition of the more than 30,000 people still evacuated from their homes, an elaborate dance number and an anime segment where a scientist helps a cartoon garlic bulb convince an ill-tempered alien that the region’s food is delicious and free of nuclear contaminants.
Japan
Iwate
Aomori
Haramachi
Gumma
Arahama
Niigata
Dominican-republic
Sendai
Miyagi
Japanese
Atsunori-inaba