FUKUSHIMA|
Many photographers love the idea of documenting abandoned areas and towns. We think that the areas of Fukushima in Japan, which were devastated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami as well as the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear catastrophe, may not be on many explorers’ top lists.
Malaysian photographer Keow Wee Loong, however, seems to have little concern for the after-effects of those incidents, sneaking into Fukushima’s closed off “red zones” to photograph ghost towns untouched since their immediate evacuation.
Abandoned supermarket, apparently frequented by wild animals.
Abandoned supermarket.
Pon, which you don’t need to go to a ghost town for.
Abandoned bookstore.
Video/DVD rental store.
Left behind laundry–not the best thing to be picking up.
Where time stopped in these towns.
Namie supermarket.
Namie Station.
Collapses structures from the earthquake.
Left behind vehicles.
A barrier in Okuma.
Loong identifies these as radioactive waste, but they appear to be bags of topsoil.
Empty streets.
More damaged buildings.
A Playstation 2.
Vegetables and flowers shop.
An over-run shoe store.
The entire set of photos can be seen in Keow Wee Loong’s Facebook album. While there is plenty of fascinating material here, there is a sense of unease in someone providing it by going through homes that can never be returned to by those who were forced to leave them.