Zone / The life that did not exist

Kazuo Endo

Kazuo Endo has been using his farm machinery to build farms and fences for free to protect the irradiated cattle, who cannot leave the area surrounding the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, from being culled by the authorities.

Masami Yoshizawa

Mr. Yoshizawa ran a large spacious farm in Namie-machi 14kms north-west of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
Despite the lack of hope for the future he remained on the farm along with 300 cattle which no longer had any commercial value due to the nuclear accident. He set up the Farm of Hope, despite the fact that he was exposing himself to high radiation by staying in the area.
By giving the option of life to the radiated cattle that the authorities and Tokyo Electric did not want alive, he is taking a stand against the governmemt.

Isabella Gallaon-Aoki

Animal Friends Niigata

Isabella Gallaon-Aoki was born in Italy. She went to China to study Chinese but took an interest in Japan and after moving to Japan, married a Japanese man and moved to Niigata.
She was a member of a local animal welfare group but became fustrated with the fact that there were no decent shelters and with the help of her family independently started an animal rescue center and NPO Animal Friends Niigata in 2008.
After the March 11th disaster she repeatedly visited the Tohoku area and rescued many animals. The 150 or so animals that were originally sheltered suddenly rose to triple the number because of the intakes from the disaster.

Hiroshi Hoshi

Hiroshi Hoshi was born in Soma city, Fukushima. He currently resides in Tokyo. He became aware of the many animals left in the zone by chance on the way back from visiting his hometown with his family in April just after the nuclear accident. That led him to start a guerilla style animal rescue program with his 34 year-old son on the weekends.

Akira Honda

After the nuclear power plant accident Akira Honda set up Nyanda Guard Corporation while single-handedly entering Fukushima from Aichi to rescue the animals left in the zone.
Although lamenting the stark reality that there seems to be no end to the existence of the zone, he has given his life to the animals of the affected area and says, "I've made a decision to stay in Fukushima for as long as it takes."

Yasunori Hoso

Yasunori Hoso's remarkable achievement cannot be described in words. He entered the zone straight after the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster and rescued animals under the most extreme conditions of nuclear radiation.
He is currently working towards building a large scale shelter (a Tierheim or animal sanctuary) where animals who have been separated from their owners for various reasons can be taken care of and wait to be adopted.

Maika

Maika gives free performances of the play "Haru" which depicts the animals left within a 20 km radius of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant.
The main character of the play Haru the Shiba, who is left behind after the accident, is played by a high school student who resides in Koriyama city Fukushima, Rina Kumada.

Mieko Yoshida ( a.k.a. the Cat Lady )

Ms. Yoshida ran a small cram school in Odaka-ku Soma city, Fukushima. She was forced to leave her nine cats at her home which became an off limits zone due to the nuclear disaster.
She repeatedly appealed to the authorities for help and the support of other pet owners by protesting with a placard in various places including the town hall. At the same time she managed to rescue 7 of her own cats.
She has participated extensively in activities to feed and capture the animals in and around Odakaku.

Ikeda Farm ( Mitsuhide Ikeda, Mikiko Ikeda )

Mr. and Mrs. Ikeda of Ikeda Farm are the only residents of Okuma-machi, a few kms from the highly radioactive Fukushima nuclear power plant, feeding the cattle on their farm and protesting against the senseless slaughter of cattle by the government.

Individual Volunteers

We also followed the nameless individuals who feed and rescue abandoned pets in the 20 km radius zone. Many of whom work in Tokyo on the weekdays and rescue animals on the weekends, using their own money and resources to do so. We managed to capture on film the people who quietly tried to carry out the thankless task of doing what they felt was right on their own terms. No large media company has reported the fact that many lives were saved thanks to these volunteers.

Original Music / SAKAMOTO Hiromichi ( cello, musicalsaw, electronics )

Hiromichi Sakamoto is known for his mainly impromtu musical performances as a solo artist, with his band and with many other singers and musicians. He appeared in the music documentary "We Don't Care About Music Anyway(2011)" and composed the music for the aninmated film "緑子/MIDORI-KO". He has also worked on many theatre productions and composes and performs many pieces for the theatre.

Narrator / Arthur Binard

Arthur Binard was born in Michigan in 1967. He studied English literature at Colgate University, New York and left for Japan after graduation, starting a career as a Japanese-language poet. He received a Nakahara Chuya Prize for his collection of poetry and a Nippon Ehon Prize for his children's book. He writes essays, children's books, poetry and translates children's books and collections of poetry. He is also a radio personality.

Photographed & Directed by Naotoshi Kitada

Official Website：http://www.adg-theater.com

In the evacuation zone, which even now strictly regulates entry of journalists and people with cameras,
this film takes a closer look at the real situation through the eyes of the police and staff at off-site centers.
The result gives a new perspective on the area different from that as reported by journalists.
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Born in 1968, Naotoshi Kitada is a self-taught film maker who spent the 8 years between the ages 26 to 34 on the production of his 35 mm film entitled "inu"(100 min). It is the surreal story of a dog who is killed by humans becoming a monster and vowing revenge upon his killers. It was screened in theatres and became available on DVD format in 2003. The same year his partner comitted suicide and his desire to try to escape from reality, became the reason for him to direct "Asako (105min, 2003)". It is the story of a housewife who plunges to her death. As soon as the project was completed he depicted the sense of loss felt by one who has lost a loved-one through the narrative-and-landscape-driven "Far From the Devilish District"(115min, 2008) while travelling the Tohoku area by himself. After that he spent 5 years away from film making but after learning about the animals left behind near the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant he started work on the documentary "zone/The life that did not exist".