​Futaba is a town in Futaba District, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. As of December 2014, the town had an official registered population of 6,113 and a population density of 119 persons per km2. The total area was 51.40 square kilometres (19.85 sq mi).However, as of March 2011 the entire population was evacuated as a result of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Since 2013, only 4% of the town has been open to visitors.

​Futaba was severely affected by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. Besides sustaining considerable damage from the earthquake and the tsunami (which devastated the coastal area), the town was evacuated en masse on the morning of March 12 as it is well within the 20 km exclusion radius around the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

A sign in Futaba says "Nuclear Energy: The Energy of a Bright Future". The letters have since been taken down.

​On March 28, 2013, the central government rezoned the town into two areas according to level of radiation, with residents permitted to return to one of the zones for daytime visits. They were prohibited from entering the other zone due to dangerously high levels of radiation for at least another four years.However, only 4 percent of the town area zone is opened to daytime return of residents, and the town remains uninhabitable.

Futaba Links

Stepping inside the nuclear red zones of Fukushima - Article and pictures based on a visit to Futaba