Fukushima Blooms Of 'hope' In Olympic Bouquets

Namie, Japan, Aug 5 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Aug, 2021 ) :The pint-sized bouquets handed to Tokyo Olympic winners alongside their medals are carrying a symbolic message of hope, with their blooms grown in the area devastated by Japan's 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.

This year's Games has been dubbed the "Recovery Olympics", and was intended to showcase rebuilding in parts of northeast Japan where 18,000 people were killed or went missing in the tsunami.

There's been no flood of visitors to the region because of the pandemic, but being featured in the Olympic bouquets has offered local growers an international showcase.

"I'm delighted when I see athletes holding the bouquet and a medal," said Yukari Shimizu, 55, a flower farmer from Fukushima's Namie, one of the towns worst affected by the disaster.

The bouquets given to medallists feature delicate eustoma blooms and Solomon's seals from Fukushima region, sunflowers from Miyagi region and gentians from Iwate region -- all areas affected by the disaster.

Bundled with a cuddly Tokyo 2020 mascot, they've been seen around the world in pictures of athletes on the podium, much to Shimizu's delight.

"The floral language of eustomas is hope. I want to continue growing good flowers, with hope in my heart," she said.

Fukushima was the site of the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl when the killer tsunami triggered by an undersea quake overwhelmed a local nuclear plant.

Around 165,000 people fled their homes in the area, either under evacuation orders or voluntarily, with 12 percent of the prefecture declared off-limits in the immediate aftermath.

Since then, numerous areas have been declared safe after extensive decontamination, and incentives are being offered to draw people back, but life hasn't exactly returned to normal.