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Society

Former Fukushima ghost town stirs with new business 9 years on

Namie has a 7-Eleven and world-class energy plant but still needs people

Ukedo elementary school in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture was devastated in Japan's 2011 tsunami disaster and remains standing but unused. (Photo by Kohnosuke Urata)

NAMIE, Japan -- Amid the vacant houses and barren fields here stands a shining new symbol of the community's slow journey back from disaster to everyday Japanese life: a convenience store.

The town of Namie sits just north of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which was plunged into meltdown when a deadly earthquake and tsunami struck nine years ago Wednesday.

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