Black sacks containing radiation-contaminated soil, leaves, wood chippings and other debris sit by the side of the road near Litate village. The clean up operation is also targeting forested areas within 65 feet of homes, with trees occasionally being felled.
Four years after the Tohoku earthquake and a deadly tsunami that precipitated the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear disaster, hundreds of square miles around the stricken reactor remain off-limits for habitation due to radioactivity. As part of the cleanup operation thousands of tonnes of topsoil have been removed and bagged up but currently there is a lack of suitable storage facilities for the radioactive material.