On March 11, 2011, a massive earthquake off the northern coast of Japan triggered a tsunami that completely destroyed the the nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan. What followed were a series of explosions that ended up releasing deadly levels radiation into the surrounding area, forcing an immediate and total evacuation.
As a result, many animals were left behind as families frantically fled the Fukushima nuclear zone. Of the 160,00 individuals instructed to evacuate, two men stayed behind to care for the abandoned animals. Naoto Matsumura and Sakae Kato both live alone, and have both made it their mission to individually care for dozens of animals that had no one to tend to their needs.
According to REUTERS, Kato makes his home in the mountains and has 41 cats he cares for each day. The former construction worker was at one time tasked with helping to demolish abandoned buildings and homes in the fallout zone, and was shocked at how many dead, abandoned pets he found. He returned to live in the city and has been caring for his cats as well as a stray dog named Pochi for 10 years now.
Naoto Matsumura originally evacuated per government orders, but soon returned to the city in search of his own pets he had to leave behind. What he found when he returned was a wide array of abandoned animals. From dogs, to pigs, cows, and ostriches, the 55-year-old took it upon himself to make sure these animals were cared for and decided to move back to his old neighborhood in the town of Tomioka. In an interview covered by ALL THATS INTERESTING Matsumura said:
“Our dogs didn’t get fed for the first few days,” he said. “When I did eventually feed them, the neighbors’ dogs started going crazy. I went over to check on them and found that they were all still tied up. Everyone in town left thinking they would be back home in a week or so, I guess.”
On top of living back in one of the most irradiated areas in the nuclear zone, the Japanese Aerospace Agency has labeled Matsumura the most irradiated man in the country, with his exposure at 17 times higher than most people experience over their lifetime. But he’s not concerned, since he will be an old man by the time the the affects of the radiation exposure start appearing in 3-40 years.
Both men plan on living out their days doing exactly what they are doing now. Even they they have been told by police on multiple occasions to leave, they feel like their place is to care for the abandoned creatures who have come to fully depend on their love and support.
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