Development of German-style eco-town eyed after nuclear crisis

TOKYO, April 13 Kyodo - Prime Minister Naoto Kan is considering developing an environmentally friendly town with a population of about 50,000 to 100,000 in the event residents need to leave their homes near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant for many years, a person close to the premier said Wednesday.
Kan is thinking of designing a downtown area ''modeled on a German garden city,'' Kenichi Matsumoto, a renowned writer who serves as a special adviser to the Cabinet, told reporters after a meeting with the premier.
Matsumoto, also a historian, said he proposed the idea of creating such an eco-town somewhere in an inland area during the meeting, adding that Kan was supportive of his idea.
Matsumoto said a possible area where people affected by the nuclear crisis could move to is already in ''the premier's mind.''
When Matsumoto met the press shortly after the meeting, he quoted Kan as saying that people with homes around the plant who have been evacuated will not be able to go back to their hometowns ''for 10 or 20 years.''
But he later said that Kan did not make such remarks. Kan himself told reporters before leaving his office, ''I did not say that.''
The idea of building an eco-town will most likely be discussed by the Reconstruction Design Council, launched on Monday -- exactly one month after the most powerful earthquake and tsunami in Japan's history.
The council will hold its first meeting on Thursday. Its members include internationally known architect Tadao Ando.