Potential candidates from the Futaba electoral district are having trouble reaching voters to cast ballots in the upcoming Fukushima Prefectural Assembly race. The reason is simple, if unusual: Many have evacuated from the district, which is near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Campaigns for the prefectural assembly election officially kick off Thursday, with the election itself to be held on Nov. 20.
A man planning to run for the prefectural assembly said he was turned away by evacuees from the Futaba district town of Okuma on a recent visit to an autumn festival in Aizu-Wakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, where they are living in temporary housing.