Fifteen kilometers from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, this area of the city of Odaka was completely ravaged by the tsunami.
Jean-Patrick Di Silvestro
A family at Rikuzentakata, by the ocean.
イラスト・Matthieu Berthod
Evidence of the earthquake in Ohkuma.
Jean-Patrick Di Silvestro
Ruins at Odaka, by the ocean.
Matthieu Berthod
Contaminated zone at Namie. Retirees cleaning up debris from the tsunami.
Jean-Patrick Di Silvestro
Retirees cleaning up debris left behind by the tsunami at Namie, in the contaminated zone.
Matthieu Berthod
Forbidden zone at Futaba. Town located 3 kilometres from the centre of the Fukushima catastrophe.
Jean-Patrick Di Silvestro
Ruins at Odaka, in the contaminated zone.
Matthieu Berthod
Contaminated zone at Futaba. Bicycle abandoned since 2011.
Jean-Patrick Di Silvestro
Forbidden zone at Ohkuma
Matthieu Berthod
Contaminated zone at Namie. Mrs. Hanoi Hikuko, who is in her 80s, tries to cleanse the ground so that it can be cultivated by the next generation.
Jean-Patrick Di Silvestro
Retirees cleaning up debris from the tsunami at Namie, in the contaminated zone.
イラスト・Matthieu Berthod
Mrs. Okazaki, an octogenarian, keeps her shop open despite the city's abandonment by its inhabitants.
Jean-Patrick Di Silvestro
Rikuzentakata, the largest village destroyed by the tsunami.
Matthieu Berthod
Six years after the Fukushima disaster on March 11, 2011, 70% of the evacuated and forbidden areas have been freed up by Japanese authorities and the policy of returning the population to those areas continues. Two Genevans, Matthieu Berthod and Jean-Patrick Di Silvestro, recount their trip there and present the reality of Fukushima today with a book of drawings and photographs entitled "After the Waves - Around Fukushima".
This content was published on
Born in Yokohama, Japan. I live in Switzerland since 1999. I hold a master’s degree in international relations from Geneva. I am the Head of the Japanese section of swissinfo.ch since 2016. Previously, I worked for 15 years for Asahi Shimbun at the UN in Geneva, where I closely followed multilateral and Swiss affairs.
Matthieu Berthod, Jean-Patrick Di Silvestro, Akiko Uehara
The Fukushima nuclear accident was coupled with an earthquake of magnitude 9 and a tsunami that killed 20,000 people and destroyed 600 kilometres of coastline. In Odaka, the devastated area, triangular concrete breakwaters that weigh tons were brought down by the tsunami 3 kilometres inland. Photographer Jean-Patrick Di Silvestro recounts: “The wind was blowing, the squalls crossed the houses, the crows were croaking and that was all. The area was deserted.”
In this area of Odaka, contaminated by the radioactivity of the nuclear power plant, the two artists met mainly with elderly people. “For example, Mrs. Hanoi, who was busy cleaning up the devastated land so that it could be cultivated for the next generation. An effort in vain for thousands of years to come.”
Through black and white drawings, in a sober and refined style, Matthieu Berthod wants to express the gravity of the situation. Jean-Patrick Di Silvedstro wants to show the reality “without dramatisation” through his colour photographs. They tell how everyday life is organised after the drama, with the hope of a future, even if the price to pay is extremely high.
The illustrator and the photographer hope that this book will help to ensure that the Swiss government respects its commitment to phase out nuclear energy and redoubles its effort to improve the safety of Switzerland’s aging nuclear plants.
The book on Fukushima will be presented at the bookstore, Boulevard, in Geneva, on March 22, and at the Geneva Book and Press Fair on April 29 and 30.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Life after Fukushima
This content was published on
Swiss photographer Dominic Nahr takes a moving look at how life has continued in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster, as well as the consequences over time.
This content was published on
Banning construction of nuclear power plants and limiting to 45 years the use of existing ones: that's an issue before Swiss voters in November.
This content was published on
The Japanese editorial team at swissinfo.ch met her at a conference in Switzerland in 2014. “I had nothing to do with Fukushima before that,” Nohara recalled in the below interview, which took place at a symposium on “Effects of Radiation on Genetics” in Geneva, when she was already seriously ill. “After the nuclear accident, I…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.