The Shimane Prefectural Government on Wednesday agreed with two neighboring prefectures to cooperate on the evacuation of residents in the event of a nuclear accident in the area.
The deals aim to secure the safe evacuation of about 396,000 residents of four Shimane cities who live within 30 km of Chugoku Electric Power Co.'s Shimane nuclear plant in Matsue, the prefectural capital.
Under the agreements, which were concluded separately with Hiroshima and Okayama prefectures, public facilities in a total of 61 municipalities will be made available for potential evacuees of a nuclear disaster.