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In Japan, Tens Of Thousands Still Waiting To Go Home

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A Japanese refugee couple eat their dinner in their allotted space at an arena used as evacuation center in Koriyama, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan in late May. (AP)
A Japanese refugee couple eat their dinner in their allotted space at an arena used as evacuation center in Koriyama, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan in late May. (AP)

Here & Now Guests:

  • Roland Buerk, BBC Reporter

Coastal towns in Japan are still recovering from March's earthquake and subsequent tsunami. Tens of thousands of people, who lived near the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, still don't know when they'll be able to return home.

Meanwhile, Japan's embattled government received a fresh blow Tuesday when the new disaster reconstruction minister resigned a week after his appointment.

The teary-eyed minister, Ryu Matsumoto, apologized and stepped down after criticism he was rude to officials, after he berated a local governor for being late to a meeting and threatened to withhold aid during a weekend trip to the tsunami-ravaged coast.

This segment aired on July 5, 2011.

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