### 4. Reconstruction from Nuclear Accident

#### 4.1. Nuclear Accident

On March 11, 2011, the Fukushima Nuclear Power Stations of the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) automatically shut down following the Great East Japan Earthquake. They subsequently lost all external power sources which were used to cool the reactor, resulting in a core melt. As a result of explosions presumably caused by hydrogen, a substantial amount of radioactive material was discharged into the atmosphere.

Following the nuclear accident, the Government and TEPCO made efforts for cooling, mitigation, and monitoring and decontamination of the affected nuclear power stations. As a result, a “condition equivalent to cold shutdown” was achieved in December 2011.

#### 4.2. Influences of Nuclear Accident

On the day of the Earthquake, the Government announced the “Nuclear Emergency Declaration,” directing residents living around the power plant to evacuate the area. In April 2011, the Government established the “restricted area,” “deliberate evacuation area,” and “evacuation-prepared area in case of emergency,” around the affected power plants.

In April 2011, radioactive material exceeding the “provisional regulation values” was detected on shiitake mushrooms grown outdoors on roundwood located in Fukushima prefecture. The Government ordered “shipment restrictions” on the affected shiitake mushrooms. Subsequently, the Government ordered additional shipment restrictions on shiitake mushroom grown indoors on roundwood, nameko and kuritake mushrooms grown outdoors on roundwood, as well as on a whole range of wild mushrooms, bamboo shoots, kogomi wild plant shoots, and meat obtained from wild boars and bears.

MAFF also established the “temporary permission values” of radioactive cesium for fertilizers. Following the detection of radioactive cesium in tree bark, lumber mills in Fukushima and neighboring prefectures have been required to reduce their shipments of bark, a by-product of lumber production, that are used as fertilizers and as beddings for livestock. Since the affected lumber mills have to store large volumes of potentially contaminated bark inside their mills, the disposal of contaminated bark has become an urgent issue.

The Forestry Agency established the “standard values” of radioactive cesium for roundwood and sawdust blocks for mushroom production as well as for firewood and charcoal used for cooking. As a result, the production of mushrooms and roundwood used for mushroom production declined substantially in Fukushima prefecture. This has disrupted the supply of roundwood used for mushroom production, since Fukushima prefecture accounts for more than half of the supply of domestic roundwood used for mushroom production which is distributed beyond the prefectural boarders.

Forests cover 62% of the land area in the municipalities where “restricted area,” “deliberate evacuation area,” or “evacuation-prepared area in case of emergency” have been designated. In these areas, forest management and logging were suspended due to the restriction. Further, the sale and distribution of wood products from these areas were cancelled because of concern about nuclear contamination.