FUKUSHIMA(JAPAN) – Sakae Kato 57-year-old, small construction business owner in his former life stayed behind to rescue cats abandoned by neighbours who fled the radiation clouds belching from the nearby Fukushima nuclear plant. He has been doing this for the past ten years. The reason he cites behind the decision was the shock of finding dead pets in abandoned houses as 160,000 people evacuated the area.
So far he has buried 23 cats in his garden, the most recent graves disturbed by wild boars that roam the depopulated community. He is looking after 41 others in his home and another empty building on his property. The cats also gave him a reason to stay on land that has been owned by his family for three generations.
“I want to make sure I am here to take care of the last one,” he said from his home in the contaminated quarantine zone, which he is allowed to visit but, technically, not allowed to sleep in. adding, “After that, I want to die, whether that be a day or hour later.
Kato leaves food for feral cats in a storage shed he heats with a paraffin stove. He has also rescued a dog, Pochi. With no running water, he has to fill bottles from a nearby mountain spring, and drive to public toilets.
According to his estimates, he spends $7,000 a month on his animals, part of it to buy dog food for wild boar that gather near his house at sunset. Farmers consider them pests and also blame them for wrecking empty homes.
