Rice From Inside Fukushima 30-Kilometer Zone Delivered to Emperor

Rice from Hirono, Fukushima prefecture, will be served at dining halls and imperial residences.

As requested by Japanese Emperor Akihito, some of the first rice harvested in Fukushima prefecture since the March 11, 2011 disaster and subsequent nuclear meltdown has been delivered to the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. The Imperial Household Agency confirmed that 120 kilograms of Koshihikari premium rice from the town of Hirono arrived on Tuesday.

Hirono, a seaside municipality of less than 6,000 people, is located just 20 kilometers from the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The town was included in the emergency evacuation zone after the earthquake and tsunami that created one of the world’s most severe nuclear disasters. Public health concerns about irradiated Fukushima produce have devastated the livelihoods of local residents.

While that's nice that the Emperor is voting with his health, in actuality Hirono is south of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.  Most of the radiation released from the power plant went in a north-westerly direction.  While Hirono was within the evacuation zone, it did not receive much radiation.

In other words the Emperor is not taking much of a risk, but it's a nice symbolic gesture.