In the cemetery of Hosenji, a Buddhist temple about 8 km south of the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, lie the remains of an American who worked as a General Electric Co. manager when the project to build the first reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 complex was under way.
Edward Cook, a native of San Jose, California, had returned to the United States in 1971, but after his death at age 56 in 1979 his ashes were interred at the cemetery in accordance with his wishes to rest near the Fukushima plant.
Although his grave is located inside the 20-km evacuation zone around the plant, making it off-limits to local residents, the former GE manager is still very much in their thoughts.