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Fukushima 50 (film)

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Wikipedia article




'Fukushima 50' is a 2020 Japanese disaster drama film directed by Setsur Wakamatsu and written by Yichi Maekawa. Starring Koichi Sato and Ken Watanabe, it is about the titular group of employees tasked with handling the meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant after the 2011 Thoku earthquake and tsunami. The film is based on the book by Ryusho Kadota, titled 'On the Brink: The Inside Story of Fukushima Daiichi', and it is the first Japanese film to depict the disaster.

Synopsis



At 2:46 p.m. on March 11, 2011, the largest earthquake in Japan's recorded history with a magnitude of 9.1 and a maximum seismic intensity of 7 occurred. A huge tsunami struck the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. It was clear that a nuclear reactor lost all power due to flooding by the tsunami. A 'station blackout' (SBO) caused the reactor to fall into an uncoolable situation and suffer unimaginable damage due to nuclear meltdown.

On-site workers, including Izaki Haruka, who is on duty at Units 1 and 2, remain in the nuclear power plant and work hard to control the reactor. Director Masao Yoshida, who oversees the overall command, inspires his subordinates, but also expresses anger at the head office and the Kantei (Prime Minister's Office), which are not fully aware of the situation. However, the efforts at the site were in vain and the situation continued to worsen, forcing the surrounding people to evacuate.

In the worst scenario of this accident estimated by the Kantei, the damage range would have a 250 km radius with the evacuation target population of circa 50 million people, which meant the destruction of eastern Honshu (largest main island). The only option left on the scene is "venting", which has never been done before in the world and requires manual labor by a worker to rush into the reactor with their body. The operation finally began while it was cut off from the outside world and no information entered.

Cast



*Koichi Sato as Toshio Isaki, the shift supervisor of the power plant

*Ken Watanabe as Masao Yoshida, the site superintendent of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant during the disaster

*Riho Yoshioka as Izaki Haruka

*Hidetaka Yoshioka as Maeda Takumi

*Narumi Yasuda as Asano Mari

*Shir Sano as the Prime Minister of Japan Naoto Kan

*Mitsuru Hirata as Hirayama Shigeru

* Yuri Nakamura as Maeda Kana

*Shigeru Izumiya as Matsunaga

*Shhei Hino as Omori Hisao

*Naoto Ogata as Nojiri Shichi

Production



Filming began in November 2018. Post-production began in May 2019.

Reception



Mark Schilling of 'The Japan Times' gave the film a positive review, stating it "strives, boldly for a mainstream film, to tell certain home truths, from the profits-first mindset of the plant's operators."

References




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