In this Tuesday, March 5, 2013 photo, weeds grow near drinks and rice vending machines in the abandoned town of Naraha, which was once inside the nuclear exclusion zone surrounding the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, in Japan. The town is now open to residents for short visits but they are unable to return to live. Workers have begun attempts to clean up the town, which was contaminated with radiation when the nuclear plant was crippled by a tsunami two years ago. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
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In this Tuesday, March 5, 2013 photo, weeds grow near drinks and rice vending machines in the abandoned town of Naraha, which was once inside the nuclear exclusion zone surrounding the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, in Japan. The town is now open to residents for short visits but they are unable to return to live. Workers have begun attempts to clean up the town, which was contaminated with radiation when the nuclear plant was crippled by a tsunami two years ago. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
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In this Monday, March 4, 2013 photo, a man looks out from his store in the abandoned town of Yamakiya, outside the the nuclear exclusion zone surrounding the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan. Two years after a tsunami crippled the nuclear plant, towns surrounding it remain abandoned, too contaminated by radiation for residents to return for more than short visits. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
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In this Sunday, March 3, 2013 photo, plants grow on a tennis court in the abandoned town of Iitate, outside the nuclear exclusion zone surrounding the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan. Two years after a tsunami crippled the nuclear plant, towns surrounding it remain abandoned, too contaminated by radiation for residents to return for more than short visits. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
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In this Wednesday, March 6, 2013 photo, a small truck is covered in vines in the abandoned town of Tomioka, inside the nuclear exclusion zone surrounding the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan. Two years after a tsunami crippled the nuclear plant, the nuclear exclusion zone surrounding it remains off limits, too contaminated by radiation for residents to return. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
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In this Wednesday, March 6, 2013 photo, a boot is seen on a fence in the abandoned town of Tomioka, inside the nuclear exclusion zone surrounding the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan. Two years after a tsunami crippled the nuclear plant, the nuclear exclusion zone surrounding it remains off limits, too contaminated by radiation for residents to return. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
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In this Monday, March 4, 2013 photo, a meter indicates radiation levels beside a public toilet in the largely abandoned town of Kawauchi, outside the the nuclear exclusion zone surrounding the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan. Two years after a tsunami crippled the nuclear plant, many towns surrounding it remain abandoned. In some less contaminated towns, like Kawauchi, workers have begun clean-up efforts, and some residents have returned, but others have remained empty and off limits. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
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In this Wednesday, March 6, 2013 photo, weeds grow through cracks in an earthquake-damaged road in the abandoned town of Naraha, which was once inside the nuclear exclusion zone surrounding the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, in Japan. The town is now open to residents for short visits but they are unable to return to live. Workers have begun attempts to clean up the town, which was contaminated with radiation when the nuclear plant was crippled by a tsunami two years ago. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
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In this Sunday, March 3, 2013 photo, a policeman checks on houses in the abandoned town of Iitate, outside the nuclear exclusion zone surrounding the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan. Residents were forced to evacuate the town after radiation levels exceeded those inside the exclusion zone, and two years later have not been able to return for more than brief visits. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
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In this Monday, March 4, 2013 photo, a doll sits on the balcony of a house in the abandoned town of Namie, outside the the nuclear exclusion zone surrounding the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan. Though the town is outside the official exclusion zone, residents were forced to evacuate after radiation levels exceeded those inside the zone. On March 11, Japan marks two years since a tsunami crippled the nuclear plant, causing it to spew radiation into the air and contaminating the area for miles around it. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
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In this Monday, March 4, 2013 photo, a warning sign for drivers is seen beside a roadway, near a pile of radiation-contaminated soil at the Tsushima Junior High School in Namie, outside the the nuclear exclusion zone surrounding the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan. Two years after a tsunami crippled the nuclear plant, towns surrounding it remain abandoned, too contaminated by radiation for residents to return for more than short visits. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
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In this Monday, March 4, 2013 photo, unicycles are seen at an abandoned school in Yamakiya, outside the the nuclear exclusion zone surrounding the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan. Two years after a tsunami crippled the nuclear plant, towns in the area surrounding it remain abandoned, too contaminated by radiation for residents to return for more than short visits. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
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In this Monday, March 4, 2013 photo, protest slogans criticising Tepco, the company which ran the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, appear with a photo of residents on the window of the home they were forced to evacuate in Namie, outside the the nuclear exclusion zone surrounding the plant in Japan. Two years after a tsunami crippled the nuclear plant, towns surrounding it remain abandoned, too contaminated by radiation for residents to return for more than short visits. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
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In this Sunday, March 3, 2013 photo, a policeman checks on houses in the abandoned town of Iitate, outside the nuclear exclusion zone surrounding the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan. Residents were forced to evacuate the town after radiation levels exceeded those inside the exclusion zone, and two years later have not been able to return for more than brief visits. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
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In this Monday, March 4, 2013 photo, a time capsule is surrounded by weeds at the Tsushima Junior High School in Namie, outside the the nuclear exclusion zone surrounding the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan. Two years after a tsunami crippled the nuclear plant, towns surrounding it remain abandoned, too contaminated by radiation for residents to return for more than short visits. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
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In this Monday, March 4, 2013 photo, weeds grow around a seat in the abandoned town of Namie, outside the the nuclear exclusion zone surrounding the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan. Though the town is outside the official exclusion zone, residents were forced to evacuate after radiation levels exceeded those inside the zone. Two years after a tsunami crippled the plant, towns in the area surrounding it remain abandoned, too contaminated by radiation for residents to return for more than short visits. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
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In this Tuesday, March 5, 2013 photo, grasses grow beside abandoned houses in Naraha, which was once inside the nuclear exclusion zone surrounding the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, in Japan. The town is now open to residents for short visits but they are unable to return to live. Workers have begun attempts to clean up the town, which was contaminated with radiation when the nuclear plant was crippled by a tsunami two years ago. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
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In this Sunday, March 3, 2013 photo, contaminated soil is stored near houses in the abandoned town of Iitate, outside the nuclear exclusion zone surrounding the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan. Two years after a tsunami crippled the nuclear plant, many towns surrounding it remain abandoned, too contaminated by radiation for residents to return for more than short visits. In Iitate police check on abandoned houses, and workers keep streets tidy, but residents are unable to move back to their homes. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
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In this Monday, March 4, 2013 photo, an empty gas station is seen in the abandoned town of Namie, outside the the nuclear exclusion zone surrounding the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan. Though the town is outside the official exclusion zone, residents were forced to evacuate after radiation levels exceeded those inside the zone. Two years after a tsunami crippled the nuclear plant, towns in the area surrounding it remain abandoned, too contaminated by radiation for residents to return for more than short visits. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
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In this Monday, March 4, 2013 photo, police man a barrier marking the edge of the nuclear exclusion zone surrounding the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan. Two years after a tsunami crippled the nuclear plant, many towns surrounding it remain abandoned, too contaminated to allow residents to return for more than brief visits. Those inside the official exclusion zone are still off limits. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
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In this Tuesday, March 5, 2013 photo, the faded outline of painted footprints are seen on a street corner in the abandoned town of Naraha, which was once inside the nuclear exclusion zone surrounding the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, in Japan. The town is now open to residents for short visits but they are unable to return to live. Workers have begun attempts to clean up the town, which was contaminated with radiation when the nuclear plant was crippled by a tsunami. On March 11, Japan marks two years since the tsunami crippled the plant and caused a nuclear disaster. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
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In this Sunday, March 3, 2013 photo, a street light glows in the abandoned town of Iitate, outside the nuclear exclusion zone surrounding the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan. Two years after a tsunami crippled the nuclear plant, many towns surrounding it remain abandoned, too contaminated by radiation for residents to return for more than short visits. In Iitate police check on abandoned houses, and workers keep streets tidy, but residents are unable to move back to their homes. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
AP PHOTOS: Images from Japan's nuclear disaster
TOMIOKA, Japan (AP) — Two years after a powerful earthquake and tsunami wrecked Japan's Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant, many towns nearby remain abandoned, too affected by radiation for residents to return for more than short visits.
About 160,000 people were displaced by the nuclear disaster, and even some areas outside the 20-kilometer (12-mile) zone that initially was completely off-limits are too contaminated to be cleaned up in the foreseeable future. In others, work is proceeding on cleaning soil, leaves, grass and buildings to help reduce radiation to safer levels.
It remains unclear how effective the cleanup will be or how many people will eventually return to their homes, given fears over potential risks from the radiation and the lack of jobs in an area that depended mainly on farming, fishing and work at the now defunct nuclear plant.
For now, the area is mostly deserted, the fields and homes overgrown with weeds.
Here's a gallery of images from abandoned towns in the area around the crippled nuclear plant.
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jobs, fukushima, science_technology, fears, japan, soil, area, homes, lack, three mile island accident, buildings, towns, areas, radiation, gallery, residents, people, earthquake, images, ap photos, cleanup, nuclear plant, chernobyl disaster, grass, foreseeable future, weeds, farming, leaves, off-limits, powerful earthquake, potential risks, nuclear disaster, photosynthesis, ionizing radiation, lists of nuclear disasters and radioactive incidents, dai-ichi nuclear plant, goiânia accident, 20-kilometer 12-mile zone, tomioka, defunct nuclear plant, short visits, safer levels
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