I found this story, translated beautifully and reported by VICE Japan , referenced in Mother Jones: The Most Radioactive Man on Earth Has the Kindest Heart .
It’s been just over two years since the earthquake and tsunami that caused catastrophic failure in the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, releasing high levels of radiation onto surrounding towns and villages.
Naoto Matsumura, a 53 year old fifth generation rice farmer made the conscious decision to to return to the small town of Tomioka, less than six miles from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant. His plan: to care for the animals on his family farm.
He said he was scared at first by the radiation, worrying that he would develop cancer or leukemia, but the longer he stayed the more devoted he became to the now homeless, and often starving, animals left behind in the town. He now cares for cattle, pigs, cats, dogs, and ostriches. He liberated dogs that had been left behind, tied up in yards and homes. They barked for food, he fed them. Every day he makes the rounds in his truck, distributing food and water to the many abandoned animals of Tomioka.
Matsumura knows he is at greatly increased risk of developing radiogenic cancer and other disease due to the high radiation levels both inside his home and outdoors. He doesn’t carry a Geiger counter because he doesn’t care any more. Researchers monitoring his health have told him he has the highest radiation level of anyone in Japan. They also told him that he won’t get sick for 30 to 40 years. He responds: “I’ll most likely be dead by then anyway, so I couldn’t care less.”
Donations to help Naoto Matsumura care for the animals can be made through the NPO organization that Naoto and his supporters run:http://ganbarufukushima.blog.fc2.com/ . It’s a Japanese website but on the middle-left there is donation information in English.
Supporters have also set up a Facebook page.
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