Restrictions lifted
Monday’s lifting of the exclusion order is the first time an area this close to the site has been cleared. Miyakoji is 12 miles (20 kilometers) from the plant, on the edge of the initial exclusion zone.
Prior to the lifting of the order, some Fukushima residents were allowed to stay overnight in their homes, subject to registration. All restrictions on their movements have now been lifted within the cleared district.
355 residents — out of a total 116 households — are now free to return to their homes in Miyakoji permanently. The city of Tamura is one of eleven settlements in Fukushima that are still subject to evacuation orders.