Radioactive hero returns to Fukushima to feed the animals everyone else forgot about

The untold human suffering and property damage left in the wake of the Fukushima disaster in Japan has been well-documented, but there’s another population that suffered greatly that few have discussed – the animals left behind in the radioactive exclusion zone.

One man, however, hasn’t forgotten – 55-year-old Naoto Matsumura, a former construction worker who lives in the zone to care for its four-legged survivors.

Naoto Matsumura is the only human brave enough to live in Fukushima’s 12.5-mile exclusion zone

He fled at first but returned to take care of the animals that were left behind

He returned for his own animals at first, but realized that so many more needed his help, too

Matsumura, who is 55 years old, knows that the radiation is harmful, but he “refuses to worry about it”

“They also told me that I wouldn’t get sick for 30 or 40 years. I’ll most likely be dead by then anyway, so I couldn’t care less”

Matsumura discovered that thousands of cows had died locked in barns

He also freed many animals that had been left chained up by their owners

Many of them now rely on him for food

The government has forbidden him from staying, but that doesn’t stop him either

He started in 2011 and is still going strong 5 years later

He relies solely on donations from supporters to work with and feed the animals

His supporters are calling him the ‘guardian of Fukushima’s animals’

The man clearly has a sense of humor as well

Wow, this man is truly a hero. 

via bored panda