This is an old, sad story. His image went viral in 2010 and he got bombarded with media attention, which was very distressing for him as he was (and is) mentally ill and not capable of handling it.

It’s worth noting that there are still people living and working in Fukushima. While the exclusion zone is mostly empty, life continues pretty much as normal outside the zone where radiation is lower. Fukushima hasn’t given up on rebuilding yet, though getting people in to clean up after damage and the cleanup work of scraping and disposing of contaminated soil goes on. There are opportunities for people interested in volunteering still, for the interested. :)

Wait … when were they off the offensive?

Given that he was at first mistakenly identified as the shooter, and given the amount of shock and upset right now, I fear he might be safer in police custody. That may be a part of it too.

Makes me so glad that my parents decided to ignore the gender stereotypes and introduce me and my sisters to fossils, fishing, and dinosaurs. Though it has always struck me as odd that I was the one who got the chemistry set for Christmas, yet it was my dress-loving, very girly younger sister who aspired to be a teacher who became the science professor.