Original version

BBC World Service Australasia

Fukushima

Podcasts

Drama: Historical

A tsunami hits the Japanese nuclear plant. A seven-part drama. Season 1: Fall of the Shah

Season 2: Fukushima
A tsunami hits the Japanese nuclear plant. A seven-part drama.
Season 1: Fall of the Shah
A tale of power, betrayal and fear. A nine-part drama.

Season 1: Fall of the Shah
A tale of power, betrayal and fear. Taking you back to the 1970s, when the Iranian Revolution would change the world forever.  A nine-part drama.

Season 2: Fukushima
A tsunami hits the Japanese nuclear plant. The disaster told in a seven-part drama. As the energy company and politicians in Tokyo lose control, the reactors become unstable and a “suicide squad” of older workers is sent inside. This drama follows the heroes who fight to contain the disaster and those whose mistakes led Japan to catastrophe. Years later, some seek atonement.

Fukushima Cast:
Suto: Togo Igawa
Akiko: Ami Okumura Jones
Yoshida: Eiji Mahara
Saito: Sadao Ueda
Ito: Matt McCooey
Shimada: Akira Koieyama
Narrator: Romola Garai
Reporter: Kevin Shen
Reporter: Naoko Mori 
Worker: Nino Furuhata
Written by Adrian Penketh
Sound design is by Peter Ringrose
Produced by Toby Swift and Sasha Yevtushenko
Commissioned by Simon Pitts for BBC World Service.

No Master Brand

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service News Internet

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

BBC World Service East Asia

BBC Afghan Radio

Fukushima: Fukushima: Fukushima: 4. Evacuation

Factual

21/06/2023 GMT

Fukushima: 4. Evacuation

BBC World Service - Fukushima, Fukushima, Fukushima: 4. Evacuation

The reactors are unstable.  A “suicide squad” of older workers is sent inside

The reactors are unstable.  A “suicide squad” of older workers is sent inside.

The reactors are unstable.  A “suicide squad” of older workers is sent inside and young staff are evacuated. Pressure levels are dangerously high, raising the chances of another explosion. A drama about the events of March 2011.  

Cast:
Suto: Togo Igawa
Akiko: Ami Okumura Jones
Yoshida: Eiji Mihara
Prime Minister: Kevin Shen
Saito: Sadao Ueda
Shimada: Akira Koieyama
Ito: Matt McCooey
Narrator: Romola Garai

Fukushima is written by Adrian Penketh
Sound design is by Peter Ringrose
Produced by Toby Swift and Sasha Yevtushenko
Commissioned by Simon Pitts for BBC World Service

Audio for this episode was updated on 4 October 2023.

Fukushima: Fukushima

A tsunami hits the Fukushima nuclear power plant, turning it into a ticking time bomb.

In March 2011, the largest earthquake ever recorded in Japan’s history triggered a tsunami that decimated large areas of the country and led to widespread loss of life.

When the tsunami made landfall it barrelled over the seawall protecting the Fukushima nuclear power plant on Japan’s Pacific coast, flooding its basements and cutting its power.

The stricken power plant became a ticking timebomb, posing an existential threat to Japan and beyond.

This drama series follows the people who fought to contain the disaster and those who had to live with its aftermath.

Suto ….. Togo Igawa
Akiko ….. Ami Okumura Jones
Yoshida …… Eiji Mahara
Saito ….. Sadao Ueda
Ito ….. Matt McCooey
Shimada ….. Akira Koieyama
Narrator  ….. Romola Garai
Reporter ….. Kevin Shen
Reporter ….. Naoko Mori 
Worker ….. Nino Furuhata

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Fukushima

Fukushima

Fukushima: 4. Evacuation

Genres

Brand

Series

BBC World Service Australasia

About BBC World Service