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A year has passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake that severely damaged the plant, leading to the radioactive contamination of many of these facilities' playgrounds. Decontamination efforts are now almost complete, but parents' fears remain.
Local governments concerned say they intend to improve indoor play areas to help prevent a decline in children's physical strength due to a lack of outdoor activities. "We three teachers are it. OK? Everybody run!"
At this cue, 71 children from the private Namiki Kindergarten in Koriyama in the prefecture began running in the gym at Bandai Atami Sports Park on a day in late February.
The kindergarten decontaminated its playground in October, but parents have been so concerned about possible health risks to their children that as of Tuesday, the kindergarten had not let them play outside once since the disaster.
As there are many similar kindergartens and day care centers in the city, the Koriyama municipal government began offering them free use of public gyms and other public facilities in June. About 23,000 children with 57 organizations had used these facilities by the end of January.
Namiki Kindergarten Principal Norio Saito said: "I'm concerned about children's lack of exercise and the mental stress [from limiting their outdoor activities]. I'm very grateful we can use the gym."
According to the Fukushima prefectural government, 111 kindergartens in the prefecture recorded 1 microsievert per hour or more of radiation at their playgrounds from April to June last year.
Most of the kindergartens and day care centers in the prefecture finished decontaminating their playgrounds and other places by removing surface soil by December. As of the end of January, radiation levels at all of these facilities had fallen to less than 1 microsievert per hour.
According to the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry, if levels are less than 1 microsievert per hour, the cumulative annual exposure of children who play on outdoor playgrounds for two hours a day amounts to only 1 millisievert or less. This level poses no health risk, the ministry says.
"We believe the radiation levels at decontaminated playgrounds [of kindergartens and day care centers] are lower than before," said Mitsuaki Toda, director of the prefecture's Childcare Support Division. "Playing there doesn't pose any health problems for children. But many facilities still voluntarily refrain from conducting children's outdoor activities."
According to prefectural government research, 676 out of the 845 operating kindergartens and day care centers in the prefecture, or 80 percent, limited the time for their children's outdoor activities as of the end of December. Children at 214 facilities had no outdoor activities.
As of the end of January, 188, or nearly 80 percent, of 242 kindergartens surveyed by the prefecture restricted outdoor activities. Fifty-six had no outdoor activities. To help cope with the situation, the private sector and nonprofit organizations are offering their facilities for indoor activities.
United Sports Foundation Kids Park, a commercial indoor facility in Fukushima, offers its exercise space to day care centers on weekdays for free. The space has been booked through March, according to the facility operator.
The prefectural government also decided to provide about 220 million yen in subsidies next fiscal year to local governments and the private sector to buy playground equipment.
The Sukagawa municipal government plans to build indoor play space for children at one or more existing public facilities. The Nihonmatsu and Date municipal governments are considering purchasing indoor playground equipment and letting day care centers use public facilities.
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