Retired schoolteacher Hidefumi Owada feels helpless whenever he returns to his deserted home in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture.

Abandoned following the meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, it is now derelict and the garden is overgrown.

"I feel miserable whenever I return home for a brief visit . . . I don't want to see it anymore," said the 81-year-old, who is a keen gardener, pointing at the messy yard.