The Last Farmer in Fukushima's Post-Nuclear Wasteland: VICE INTL (Japan)
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- Опубліковано 11 лют 2015
- Two years since the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant went into full meltdown, and the resulting 20km evacuation zone was enforced, one farmer still remains behind braving high levels of radiation and loneliness to tend to abandoned animals.
His name is Naoto Matsumura, and he is the last man standing in the ghost town of Tomioka. Another farmer, Kenji Hasegawa's town of Iidate was also evacuated due to high levels of radiation, he sought refuge in temporary housing. Faced with a postnuclear world both these men share brutally honest views on the state of their lives, TEPCO, government inaction and some of the hardest situations they have had to face in the midst of overwhelming radioactivity.
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In a radition zone smoking cigs... no fucks given
. Can you elaborate?
Mr. N Seriously?
Mr. N cigarette smoke contains radioactive Polonium and Lead isotopes. It's on of the main reasons why smoking is so likely to cause cancer.
Mr. N elaborate on what
well he's already contaminated might as well smoke
Risking his own life and health simply because he doesn't want the animals to be put down unnecessarily.
-What a Legend.
in the same vein as i am legend--they are fucking retards
The look in those guys eyes talking about their animals dying. A part of them died to, sad.
This guy has the most character in his face of any Japanese man I've seen. You can tell just by watching him exactly what he's like, I admire this man a lot.
09:55 "To me animals and humans are equal. Would they kill people just as indescreetly?" He is a good man!
he also said that if the animals were killed for food he wouldnt care. kinda contradicting isnt it..
CaptYellowBeard No, for food. Not contradictory. He wouldn't be a farmer if he didn't want to kill animals. The cattle he has left can't be used, and he sees no reason to just kill them.
But he left the mother cow and calf to starve to death! Why didn't he just set them free,so they would at least have had a chance......Can't believe that all those people went and left their animals locked-up,or on chains.Really,really sad and depressing....
Philip Spatz I think he was in panic, run for his life and didn't think about anything at that time.
Philip Spatz
Not all. The farmer near the end slaughtered all of his herd humanely. You could see the pain etched in his face. I think the only reason they left so many to starve is that the area was simply to dangerous to enter safely. I still think it was a little foolish of the men pictured here to enter the area without radiation suits. It's a disaster on so many levels...
i love this guy. so rad.
iation
ØBΛV ÆND BIJΔND
***** thanks for the expository for us slow people.
Feelin' The Aster. He's the Japanese Burt Reynolds haha
Some comments say they want to have Overdubs, but I think subtiltles is way better because you can hear the real voice.
I'm a native Japanese speaker, but this guy has a thick Fukushima accent ( like many people of Tohoku / North-Eastern Japan). So sometimes I have to read the subtiles like a foreigner, anyway :) But still I prefer hearing his heavy dialect and reading subs. No overdubs, keep it real !
Dubs suck unless we're talking about Funimation.
Man, i like watching this kind of documentaries so much. About remote people, single individuals, real struggle, deep thoughts.... I can see more humanity in this guy here, then i see in a month with all the people i meet all put together.
I bet he's hiding cocaine inside the farm. He looks like a gangster.
You mean a Yakuza. LOL
That's if the Yakuza still want to snort radioactive dough.
Cocaine is cocaine, regardless of radioactivity. :) Wooo hoooo!
He cuts it with nuclear waste. Got all the fiends walkin like c3po
I wonder how well weed grows in radiation...
3:05 "I couldn't leave the animals behind." My heart.
I was crying the entire time. I have mad respect for the two men who valued these animals in a way most farmers or people do not.
wow
People are cancer, animals a worth of something. it's cool that someone cares.
true i also cried watching. they are cool people.
It's like that. When you get your first game and eat it, you respect nature even more.
You can really feel the intense sadness shared by these two. Much respect.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Nippon Farmer edition.
Too bad they ended the STALKER franchise, it would be interesting idea!
A zone in Japan. Well that'd be quite new
I love you man.
12oradsrgobry Nope they confirmed a new stalker yesterday, after some posers appeared on kickstater!
OMG AHHAHHA
Thanks for putting this Video up once again! Always a pleasure to be reminded of this man. But how is he doing today? We´d love to see a new Video about him and the circumstances there.
Strong man in a damaged land being stubborn enough to care for what others left behind. Immensely compelling, we need more people like this in the world.
The story at the end about the starving calf trying to nurse but the mother would kick it away was pretty horrible. They should have put the ones that far gone down as soon as they could instead of letting them die slowly. It's stories like that, that really illustrate the depth of what happened there. It's truly saddening.
He's betting on being the first to grow tomacco.
Ahhahaah xD
Doh !!!
SLAJD
lmao
how the fuck can people watch this and crack jokes... this is one of the saddest things I've seen.
Just like how that guy with the white hair doesn't give a hoot about the radiation; people don't give a hoot about the problems of other people.
Welcome to the Internet my friend, this is where you discover the darkest nature of human beings...
How can you be on the Internet and still ponder that question?
***** haha, touche
WŒЯKØЯ BĪZ KÆN LĪV
IVØN ĎЯOWNZ KÆN FLAJ ØWĒJ
ÐØ KWĪN YZ ÐƐЯ SLEJV
This is by far the best Photograph i have seen in any Vice documentary.
My lifes problems don't seem so bad now..fuck.
I totally agree with you ! Always someone worse off..
Peace to you :)
*****
Pretty sure they were speaking for themselves
***** bruh...at least you got a computer and not exposed to radiation so, all in all, not too shabby
He seems happy as well. I wonder if they know something about radiation that we don't know.
this was 2 years ago and we dont have news about his life in that place anymore...his last youtube video was 5 years ago i hope he still ok...Naoto Matsumura is a trully hero!(his channel:naotobooboo)
Watching this in 2021 makes the pandemic seem like a walk in the park. Much respect to those two men.
Meet the lone farmer who lives in Fukushima's post-nuclear wasteland.
More stories from our global VICE family: bit.ly/VICE-INTL-
Thank you for this documentary!
WOW
i knew it was bad there, but the mayor lying like that, and to that degree?
slimy. very slimy.
It's indeed the first good documentary i've seen from vice japan. They normally have quite retarded themes and quite bad documenting. However this one is a big step forward in the right direction, and feels a bit like the old VICE documentaries, before it got all commercialised.
ShadowfinderMusic Ivon Craig Definitely one of their best. No self-aggrandizing journalist talking about how edgy they were for covering the subject matter or how crazy they were for going to that part of the world, no random shots of rioting with apocalyptic monologuing (for some really bad examples of this, watch the one about the Black Death in Madagascar). The stories and images are allowed to speak for themselves, with experts coming in to provide basic factual context (not always disastrous or even negative). You can't watch that story about the cow and calf at the end and be unmoved.
I expected a story of tumor riddled farmer and his mutant farm animals. What I viewed was a well thought out documentary about desolation and loss after a nuclear incident. Thanks Vice. You're not just getting older. You're getting wiser.
I am by no means a tree-hugging PETA lover, but seeing the wasteland that we humans have created in that area, and the suffering/dying the animals had to endure is just sickening.
what an incredible story. i admire this man not wanting to leave animals. some people value their lives as if they are more important than animals.. they are wrong. cruelty to anything that feels pain and is conscious is wrong. it takes a lot of strength and courage to do what he did, most people would have just stayed away and let them die for the benefit of trying to get better not knowing that helping them and taking care of them will make you emotionally stronger and strong minded. love is above all. great video again vice.
This was really hard to watch, but awesome job with the mini doc ;) Feel so bad for that guy and his family....
He can do What he wants becouse he only dares to stay there and keeps pushing where others quit thats a man with an good heart! Love it
Dear Vice, thank you for showing light on this issue. It brought tears to my eyes. It's so sad.
This guy can be an excellent inspirational speaker.
He actually is invited to places around the world to give talks. People aren't worried about being around him for a couple days or so.
- Dropped cigarette on radiated ground
- Picked it up, lit it and used it
- No fucks given
This man shows that some of us care, most people evacuated the zone, but people like him stayed because he felt it was his duty to continue caring for the animals there.
It's been 3 YEARS!?!
God dayum!
Why do you have Swedens flag on a pile of shit?
I think they're Swedish meat balls lol
kevjtnbtmglr
Meatballs...
Swedish Meatballs are awesome. I'm going to go to Ikea and buy a pallet of them to survive the next meltdown.
sc0tte1 and while your there you can pick up some dirt cheap furniture!
I watched “Fukushima monologues(1&2)” that were produced by NHK. What a courageous man he is! His bravery is so inspiring to everyone who went through the most difficult situations. In a contrary, the government doesn’t offer enough aid to those victims who are still struggling.
this has been one of my favourite stories so far, thankyou vice x
Interesting and difficult video story. Thank you very much.
That has got to be an awesome experience living in a ghost town like that. Radiation or not
It must be horrible think of how alone he must be. He has to be by himself day in day out without speaking to anyone for 30 something more years
Lincoln Abraham As far as I understand it, it's their choice, they could seek treatment if they wanted to, and maybe the man taking care of the animals will if they all die off. I think the second man is bearing guilt over his animals starving and is punishing himself for it, but he's got to make peace with that first. All that matters is if they are happy with their choice in the end.
Nikolas Maximilian You're stupid, he has 30 years before he gets sick from the radiation.
Mutt You're stupid, just cuz the doctors said that surely doesn't mean it's true.
Its a lot more fucking credible then what you think is true. Hmm doctor that majors in this kind of stuff or some dumbass with a computer
This man is the most humane, kind, intelligent and knowledgeable cattle farmer in the world. Love him.
Had to come and watch this a second time. 2019 already, wondering how they are? I'm amazed this documentary hasn't gotten more views or even an award yet. It's surreal how they put this together.
Touching documentary. So strange for me to see such genuine japanese men, you can see that they dedicated their life to something different compared to the the classic japanese standard society life ways. They way they speak japanese also is different, so unaltered, you can truly feel what they mean and felt, how and where they grew up outside big cities far away from conventions, their life creed so strong. Worst part was to hear the farmer telling about his brother, openly liying to him and doing the bow. He coming back only for the sake of his animals health. I can't possibly put in this comment all the feelings I have on the matter, but I feel great respect for these men they are real heroes. I would like to hug them for days... fuck the radiations.
One of the best document from vice... thank you!
Beautifully poignant documentary, Vice. This is the kind of thing I love to see - even if it does make me angry.
The amount of respect is unmeasured
that one dudes house looked awesome, I love that kind of architecture
a great reportage. Thank you.
this is again, really really fucking awesome work. really touching.
Do a follow up with more specifics such as how he gets food and what he does! What a personality.
Beautiful doco. Very well made. Those men are amazing.
I'm glad that I watched the whole video, but it was very, very sad. There is something about the personality of the farmer and his humble nature that I identify with, and I have nothing but sympathy for him. Hopefully the whole world can learn from terrible mistakes like the Fukushima disaster, and take steps to be sure money never becomes more important than the welfare of humanity.
what a beautiful and sad story. thank you.
Incredible documentary, such lonely life and sad life but beautiful in it's own way.
Amazing documentary really made me realise how miniscule my problems in life really are. Please post more interesting things like this in the future!
That was so powerful when they asked what his favourite memory was and he said that he didn't have any anymore.
I think this farmer is both a badass and crazy. He has the highest levels of radiation in his body and, lives on this radiated-land while he smokes a cigarette. I don't know what will kill him now.
Totally heartbreaking, incredible food for thoughts.
Pretty hard hitting. A fantastic piece.
What kind of sister turns away her brother? Even if he was contaminated does she think it's not going to reach down to her regardless?
That was a touching story.
I found the camera work to be quite tranquil and purposeful. It was full of many landscape, establishing shots but it was the bleakness and emptiness of it all that really struck me.
Having the journalist/producer not vocally get involved was also nice. Let the movie speak for itself. It was dramatic.
Looking him still smiling in situation like that just breaks my heart even more.
My tears can't stop when he said he won't die and his ostrich pecking him. I remember everytime i cried, my dog would come to me with his wagging tail. I missed him so much. 😭
Mad respect to both of them. I wish you happiness.
Vice always delivers.
SO much respect for this guy!
Where can we donate to help this incredible man with supplies for the animals? Is there any communications available to him for emotional support?
Vice, take notes. I still come back to watch this.
I swear I've seen this before, oh wait I did, like 6 months ago
me too man
***** i thought the same but than i realized its exactly the same documentary
***** I thought it might be like a follow up on this guy but nope
That's some BS, Vice needs to place an "originally posted on" line in the description if they're going to have reposts.
I guess I missed it, I'm glad they reuploaded, even better if I can help out with my view, it sure is the least _I_ can do.
Ouch, major tear jerker.
What an amazing soul this man is.
awesome story, well done vice japan!
Bless this man's mentality of animals
WOW ...I LOVE THIS GUY !! --PLEASE HAVE A UPDATE SOON-
There is a sad beauty to this film.
this guy is an angel for those poor animals, what a good man 😇
Wow, what a brave man...loving the animals & staying behind to what he loves best...
This guy is so chill. I love it.
This is great work. Very sad at the end, his story about the cattle. I love the line from the other farmer " people think all cows are the same, but that's not true".
Good vibes to this guy. We should all care and love out towns like that
What he said about the calf & it's mother was sad, man I couldn't watch that shit I'd have to do somet.
So the university doctors told him he wouldn't get sick for 30-40 years and that's living in the most irradiated part of the zone. In fact he's probably more likely to get cancer from smoking in his lifetime. So why do they dismiss the argument that evacuation caused more harm than radiation? It would have been easier to give the residents compensation and more long term medical checkups than have them abandon the place. It's just a stupid response driven by radiophobia.
Yeah thats right , im living in a radiation zone *smokes cigar*
lol litteraly no fucks given , that guy is bad ass
Great doc!
home will always be home
I saw this documentary months or years ago, is this a reupload or was it on another vice channel in the past?
pretty deep. hope their families are doing ok
what an optimistic person! maybe he can live a long life there
keep up these great videos
I enjoyed that this was actually about the people being interviewed and not one of the VICE crew being followed by a camera with their inner monologue. That style is alright, depending on the crew member, but a documentary should follow the subject not the person asking the questions.
God bless these men.
God bless you ..live long ...brave man
seeing a person's entire livelihood torn away from them is very upsetting indeed.
GOD BLESS THESE PEOPLE , MY PRAYERS ARE WITH THEM.
Reminds me of the Chernobyl exclusion zone, people started moving back within the year and are still living there to this day. With no cancer. Radiation is a very hard thing to understand as well as it's possible side effects.
Want to see something really interesting? Look up the lecture from the 80s, of the man who helped build the first nuclear power plants and drank water from the cooling ponds that was radiated, every single day just to prove a point. He would also go swimming in the cooling ponds... he explained quite well, how radiation isn't dangerous at all. It was made to be dangerous publicly to be controllable.
6:46 Love that guy! Quite rare for a Japanese to be such a realist and not be afraid to speak his mind
MisterDeadGuy they are always realist. Many just dont like to speak what they think
Omg poor animals...my hero!
the ostrich at the end was like bitch ill fuck you up.
This man is someone I aspire to be
This guy is actually only 23.
God Bless him he's an angel!
nothing but respect!
They are good people. And this documentary is special.
legend. hope he stays healthy and fit
God, that was a bleeding tear jerker.