In Japan, which was hit by earthquakes in 2011, the Fukushima disaster still looms large

As Japan assesses the damage from Monday’s major earthquake, it is still reckoning with the devastating nuclear crisis caused by an earthquake nearly thirteen years ago, a crisis that put the name Fukushima on par with that of Chernobyl and the nation traumatized.

In March 2011, a magnitude 8.9 earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan’s northeastern coast and knocked out the cooling systems of three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, causing a triple meltdown that spewed radioactive fallout over large swaths of land around it.

The earthquake and tsunami killed more than 19,000 people, and the nuclear disaster, one of the worst in history, raised alarm around the world. Tens of thousands of people were evacuated from the towns and farming villages surrounding the factory, and ten years later some had still not returned.

Last summer, the government announced it would dump the treated water into the ocean. The International Atomic Energy Agency said the government’s plan met the organization’s safety standards, but still faced objections from some scientists, concern among fishermen who feared it would hurt their businesses, and tensions with the Chinese and South Korean governments.

All Japan’s nuclear reactors were closed after the 2011 crisis, and much of Japan’s nuclear power program remains closed.