2024 Volume 80 Issue 20 Article ID: 24-20030
The Fukushima nuclear power station accident forced the residents of surrounding municipalities to evacuate, resulting in a large population change. Population statistics are often based on the population census and the basic resident registration, but there are differences between the two. Population is one of the basic indicators in urban planning, and it is important to track changes in population to promote various plans, including reconstruction. In this study, we analyzed the population change in Fukushima Prefecture before and after the nuclear power plant accident by focusing on the difference between the two populations. The analysis revealed that, while the residential population was generally higher than the census population across the entire prefecture before the accident, the census population has exceeded the residential population mainly in the core cities after the accident, and this trend was still continuing in 2020. The difference between the two populations, which cannot be understood only by looking at one side of the two, can be considered as a “Nostalgia index,” especially in Fukushima Prefecture, and is expected to be applied to planning under a declining population.
