More than half of the prefectures polled by the Environment Ministry do not plan to accept quake and tsunami debris from disaster-stricken Tohoku, it was learned Saturday.
Their reluctance to help dispose of the debris reflects local fears of radiation contamination from the Fukushima No. 1 power plant, which suffered multiple meltdowns after the March 11 quake and tsunami and plastered the area with fallout, local government officials said.
The debris volume is too large for the stricken municipalities to process on their own, and the central government is concerned that outside reluctance to pitch in will significantly delay Tohoku's recovery.
The ministry asked 43 prefectures outside Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima — the three prefectures hit hardest by the catastrophe — whether they plan to accept disaster debris. In reply, 23 said none of their municipalities is considering accepting any disaster-generated debris, the officials said.
Tokyo earlier this month became the first local government outside the disaster zone to accept debris from Iwate Prefecture.