The Japanese company managing the cleanup of the Fukushima nuclear disaster zone is now offering $100 boxes of peaches cultivated in the area.
The devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2011 triggered the Fukushima nuclear accident, leading to contamination in Ōkuma, Fukushima, marking it as one of the most significant global disasters since Chernobyl.
More than a decade later, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), the operator of the affected nuclear power plant, aims to eliminate negative perceptions of the region.
As part of this initiative, they are launching a sales campaign by selling $100 boxes of peaches grown in the disaster zone.
Grateful to Governor Uchibori of Fukushima for the generous gift of Fukushima peaches🍑 a symbol of the region’s resilience and revitalization. Iceland stands with #Fukushima as it continues its recovery and looks forward to further strengthening our ties. #IcelandJapan pic.twitter.com/c6c9xbz65W
— Stefan H Johannesson (@stefanhaukurj) September 10, 2024
Available at the luxury UK department store, Harrods, Tepco offers three peaches from the Fukushima region for £80 (about $105 USD), which results in approximately $35 per peach.
Tepco’s goal is to encourage consumers to move past any lingering concerns about radioactive contamination associated with food products from the area.
Prior to the disaster, the Fukushima prefecture was revered for its fruit production, including peaches, pears, strawberries, and apples, famously dubbed the “Kingdom of Fruits.”
Today, while the Fukushima prefecture continues to produce a variety of fruits and food items, most of these are not cultivated in the nuclear disaster zone.
The recent opportunity to sell these peaches in the UK emerged after food import restrictions from Fukushima were lifted, allowing a limited number of food items from the region to enter Britain.
This initiative is part of Tepco’s ongoing efforts to address the nuclear disaster’s impact, as the company is tasked with both the cleanup process and compensating the community. Approximately 164,000 residents and 50,000 households were affected and displaced by the incident.
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