For Marie Louise Towari, who fled the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, Fukushima remains a place of hope where people helped her and her family find refuge 20 years ago.

Believing it is now her turn to stand by the people of the northeastern prefecture, the 49-year-old Rwandan has been offering constant support to those forced to evacuate due to the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant that started in 2011.

"I was given hope by the people I met. So I want to be a person who can pass on hope to others to help them carry on living," Towari, who lives in the city of Fukushima and has acquired Japanese nationality, said in fluent Japanese.