Thousands of Fukushima evacuees face hardship as subsidies to be slashed

Noriko Matsumoto who fled with her children from Japan's Fukushima prefecture after the nuclear disaster, cries during a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

TOKYO (Reuters) - Nearly six years after Noriko Matsumoto and her children fled Japan's Fukushima region, fearing for their health after the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, they confront a new potential hardship - the slashing of vital housing subsidies.

    Matsumoto is among nearly 27,000 people who left areas not designated as mandatory evacuation zones, spooked by high levels of radiation after nuclear meltdowns unleashed by a powerful earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011.