First new store opens in Japan’s Okuma since 2011 nuclear accident
Maruto expects demand at its new Okuma supermarket in Fukushima from residents who have returned after nuclear evacuations and reconstruction workers.
- A Maruto supermarket has opened in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, the first new store to launch in the town since the 2011 nuclear disaster.
- The new store is intended to serve local residents who have returned after evacuations and workers involved in reconstruction projects.
- Over 500 people lined up for the opening, which local officials see as a base for bringing prosperity and vitality back to the community.
- The supermarket facility also includes a chemist's shop and a 100-yen shop on its premises.
Local residents who have returned after nuclear evacuations and people working on reconstruction projects are among the customers Maruto Co., Ltd. expects at a supermarket it launched in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, on Friday (October 2).
More than 500 people joined the queue ahead of Maruto’s Okuma supermarket opening.
The town, in north-eastern Japan, had seen no new store open since the 2011 accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Aeon Tohoku Co., Ltd.’s August 2025 store opening was in Futaba, a town that shares a border with Okuma.
Commercial development is also advancing in municipalities affected by the nuclear accident.
Maruto’s headquarters are in Iwaki, a city in Fukushima Prefecture.
At the company’s Okuma supermarket, the sales floor occupies about 2,000 square metres, with a chemist’s shop and a 100-yen shop also on the premises.
Delivery and product reservation services are available.
Okuma Mayor Jun Yoshida outlined the community role he envisaged for Maruto’s supermarket at the opening ceremony.
“It will serve as an important base for bringing prosperity and vitality to the community,” he said.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
