Thousands Who Left Fukushima Face Hardship

Nearly six years after Noriko Matsumoto and her children fled Japan's Fukushima area, they face a new possible hardship: cuts to government assistance for housing.
在松本幸子和她的孩子逃离日本福岛地区将近六年之后，她们可能要面临一个新的困难，那就是政府住房援助减少。
People who lived near the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear center feared for their health after a powerful earthquake and tsunami hit Japan on March 11, 2011.
在2011年3月11日一场强烈的地震和海啸袭击日本之后，福岛第一核电站附近的居民担心自己的健康。

The nuclear center's reactors released high levels of radiation. It was the worst nuclear accident since the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the Soviet republic of Ukraine in 1986.
这家核电站释放了高水平的辐射。这是1986年苏联时期乌克兰共和国切尔诺贝利核灾难以来最严重的一次核事故。

Matsumoto is among nearly 27,000 people who left areas that the government did not identify as required evacuation zones.
松本幸子是离开未被政府确定为必须疏散区的地区的近2.7万名群众之一。

Now, the Fukushima local government is preparing to cut unconditional housing assistance at the end of March. Many people will face the choice of returning to places they fear are still unsafe or learning to deal with financial hardship.
现在，福岛地方政府准备在3月底削减无条件住房援助。很多人将面临返回他们担心仍不安全的地区，或是学会应对经济困难。

"Because both the national and the local governments say we evacuated 'selfishly,' we're being abandoned. They say it's our own responsibility," Matsumoto, who is 55, told reporters, her voice shaking.
55岁的松本幸子声音颤抖地对记者表示：“因为国家和政府都称我们是擅自疏散，我们被抛弃了，他们说这是我们自己的责任。”

"I feel deep anger at their throwing us away."
“我对政府抛弃我们深感愤怒。”

A local official noted that while the housing assistance ends on March 31, smaller amounts of aid will still be provided, if needed. The official spoke on the condition that media not identify the official by name.
一位地方官员指出，虽然住房援助于3月31日结束，如果有需要，政府仍将会提供少量援助。这名官员是匿名对媒体发话。

At the time of the earthquake, Matsumoto lived with her husband and two daughters in Koriyama city, about 55 kilometers west of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant.
在地震发生时，松本幸子和她的丈夫以及两个女儿住在福岛第一核电站以西55公里左右的郡山市。

Japanese officials declared a ‘no-go' zone 30 kilometers around the plant, but Koriyama was outside of that area.
日本官员在核电站周围30公里划定了一个禁区，但是郡山市在此范围之外。

When her younger daughter, then 12, began suffering nosebleeds and diarrhea, Matsumoto and her children moved to Kanagawa, near Tokyo.
当松本幸子时年12岁的小女儿开始流鼻血和腹泻，她就和她的孩子搬到了东京附近的神奈川。

Her husband, who operates a restaurant, stayed behind in Koriyama to ensure they could make payments on their home loan and other bills. But, because of travel costs, the family can only meet every one or two months, and they face social pressure.
她的丈夫经营餐馆，留在了郡山市，以确保她们能付得起住房贷款和其它账单。但是因为旅行费用，这个家庭只能每一两个月见一次面，她们还面临社会压力。

"People like us, who have evacuated voluntarily to escape radiation, have been judged by our peers as if we selfishly evacuated for personal reasons," said Matsumoto.
松本幸子说，“我们这种主动逃离辐射的人一直被我们的同胞指手画脚，好像我们是因为个人原因擅自撤离。”

She feels her only support is housing aid that the Fukushima government gives to voluntary evacuees, who numbered 26,601 by October 2016.
她认为自己唯一的支援就是福岛政府提供给自愿撤离者的住房援助，截止2016年10月自愿撤离者有26601人。

The payment is generally about 90,000 yen, or $795, for a family of two or more in Matsumoto's area, a Fukushima official said. He added that full rental payments on housing are covered until March 31.
福岛官员表示，福岛地区两人以上家庭的援助款一般是9万日元，相当于795美元。他补充说，住房全额租金报销截止3月31日。

"Things here now are safe, but there are people who are still worried about safety and we understand that," he said.
他说，“现在这里很安全，但是有人还是担心安全问题，我们也理解。”

The housing assistance will no longer be given to all families. Instead, officials will consider the needs of individual families.
政府将不再向所有家庭提供住房援助。相反，官员们将考虑单个家庭的需要。

A city official said radiation levels in Koriyama are now safe, that they have decreased by time and clean-up efforts.
一位城市官员表示，郡山市的辐射水平现在是安全的。经过时间推移和清理措施，辐射水平已经有所降低。

But areas where radiation is high remain, say activists, and Matsumoto still worries.
但是活动人士表示还有些地区辐射很高，松本幸子也还是很担心。

"I'm a parent, and so I'll protect my daughter," she said. "Even if I have to go into debt, I'll keep her safe from radiation."
她说：“我是父母，所以我会保护我的女儿。即使我不得不背上债务，我也会让她免受辐射。”