In a staggering and eye-opening photo essay, a Polish photojournalist has ventured into the devastated areas around Japan’s Fukushima Exclusion Zone, documenting the state of the area in the wake of the tsunami and nuclear disaster that struck four years ago.
The essay, simply titled "Fukushima," shows observers how the orange and red fallout zones have changed since the deadly TÅhoku earthquake and tsunami, which triggered the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011, and was created by Arkadiusz PodniesiÅ„ski.
With residents evacuated, nature has reclaimed much of the site, despite efforts to slowly recover and clean up the site. In the worst affected areas, “time has stood still, as if the accident happened yesterday.”
Of course, the Japanese authorities simply don’t let rubber-necking tourists stroll around the site of radioactive nuclear fallout. Access to the red zones is strictly forbidden, unless you are a former Fukushima resident or have obtained a special permit – of which the process is exceptionally difficult.
"No tourists are allowed. Even journalists are not welcome," Podniesiński explains. "The authorities are wary, they [inquire] after the reason, the topic being covered, and attitude towards the disaster. They are worried that journalists will not be accurate and objective when presenting the topic, but they are most likely scared of being criticized for their actions."
Podniesiński made several attempts to get one of these elusive permits while still in Poland, but finally had to travel to Japan without having yet secured one. Only after arriving, and showing Japanese authorities that he had considerable experience having documented the site of the Chernobyl disaster seven years earlier, did the photographer get permission.
During his time in the Fukushima Exclusion Zone, Podniesiński visited several towns in the orange and red areas, taking many striking images which you can see in the gallery below:
