Filming the Invisible: The Fukushima Disaster 10 Years Later

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It’s hard to believe that the Tohoku earthquake and subsequent devastating tsunami in northeastern Japan happened more than 10 years ago. But a new exhibition at the Royal Geographical Society has brought together six famous photographers to examine the lasting legacy of the earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

This exhibition shows how, more than ten years after the events of 2011, large tracts of land remain uninhabitable. It also explores how efforts to clean up the area will continue. The exclusion zone is slowly shrinking, and as evacuation orders are lifted, residents are incentivized to return home. So far, few people have chosen to do so. One village found that only a third of its residents chose to return, and more than 70 percent of those residents are over 65 years old.

The exhibition will run until 23 December 2021 at the Royal Geographical Society, London. You can also view more photos online on the “Picturing the Invisible” website.

Here are some images from the gallery that show some of these recovery efforts in progress.

spiral beach

A deserted beach inside the Fukushima Exclusion Zone. Photo by Liko Shiga

An elderly couple from the coastal village of Kitakama, Japan, hold a dead tree taken from a nearby forest. The 2011 earthquake killed 60 residents of this small village. Photo by Liko Shiga

Mirror on the other side, maquette

A dagirotype (early photograph) of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, partially obscured by strong waves. Photography by Takashi Arai

Restricted accommodation

A thermal image of cattle in the exclusion zone around Fukushima. These livestock are too polluted to be used in agriculture or sold as food, but the farmer who owns them refuses to let them sleep. Photo by Giles Price

A man with a camera is photographed in the exclusion zone with a thermal imaging camera. Photo by Giles Price

evacuation

Radioactive footprints of Fukushima residents, photographed using autoradiography. Photo courtesy of Masamichi Kagaya

nuclear samurai

Taken during the resumption of the Soma Nomawi Festival after the “triple disaster” in Fukushima, this image from Tom Davis’ series “Nuclear Samurai” challenges us to think about how the youth of Fukushima are torn between their historical pride. Greatness and the various taboos imposed on them by the continued presence of radioactivity, envision their future. Photography by Thom Davis

Take a look at some of our other galleries:

Fukushima

Abandoned cars in a field in the Fukushima Exclusion Zone, 2016. Photo by Rebecca Bathory

Bags of irradiated soil stacked in the Fukushima exclusion zone, 2016. Photo by Rebecca Bathory

Founded in 1830, the Royal Geographical Society is the professional body of geographers in the United Kingdom.

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