Kat’s Piece #3: A Different Kind of Disaster

Kat reported from Fukushima, looking back on resilient communities recovering from the 2011 disaster, while simultaneously looking forward to the coronavirus pandemic unfolding before her.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had billed this year's Olympics as the “recovery games,” and the torch relay was supposed to start in Fukushima to highlight government cleanup efforts. Then the Olympics and the torch relay were postponed.

“The Olympic flame, originally supposed to be a light of hope for this region, will stay in Japan for the next year. It's already being referred to as a light of hope for the end of coronavirus instead.”