The base for the cleanup of the Fukushima nuclear plant that suffered core meltdowns in 2011 will be returned by March to its original use: the training camp for the Japanese national soccer team.
In a symbolic step in the struggle to contain one of the worst nuclear disasters in history, Tokyo Electric Power Co. Holdings Inc. will return the J-Village facility — about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the crippled No. 1 plant and just 7 km from the current exclusion zone — to the prefectural government during the current fiscal year, company spokesman Tatsuhiro Yamagishi said Tuesday.
It's also a boon for soccer players, who will use the complex as their training base for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.