When a magnitude 9 earthquake occurred in Japan a few years ago, a nuclear plant in Fukushima was severely damaged hundreds of people had to be evacuated to avoid radioactive contamination. An exclusion zone was also set up, and this place should never be inhabited ever again.
But one man decided to stay not for his sake but for the many animals that have been left behind.
His name is Naoto Matsumura, a farmer. When they were forcibly evacuated by the government, homeowners left behind their dogs, cats, some horses, and a few ostriches, perhaps believing they can come back one day. Matsumura, also called Macchan, left too.
However, he knew something others didn't: there's no coming back. This means that the animals would also die from hunger. Despite the great risk, Matsumura returned and continues to live in Tomioka, which is only less than 8 miles away from the nuclear plant.
He started bringing food for the animals until he went above and beyond by also helping them give birth and take care of their young ones. When the government wanted to kill the rest of the animals, he took the animals in.
Matsumara is already radioactive. His exposure is more than 15 times that of a regular person. There's a huge chance that he's going to die from it in the future, especially since his food supply is also contaminated.
But he's not concerned at all. Although his exposure to radiation is already very high, he was told that he'd probably develop illness within the next 30 to 40 years. By then, he believed, he would be dead. He's already close to turning 60.
He relies mainly on the donations from people outside of the exclusion zone so he could continue taking care of the animals.
Once in a while, he's bothered by the idea of being radioactive such as getting sick with cancer. However, the more he stayed with the animals, the more he realized that they would continue to be okay.
