The man who saves forgotten cats in Fukushima's nuclear zone

Cats that were rescued by Sakae Kato, rest in a cage at Kato's home, in a restricted zone in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, February 20, 2021. Kato looks after 41 cats in his home and another empty building on his property. A decade ago, he stayed behind to rescue cats abandoned by neighbours who fled the radiation clouds belching from the nearby Fukushima nuclear plant. He won't leave. "I want to make sure I am here to take care of the last one," Kato said. "After that I want to die, whether that be a day or hour later." REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

FUKUSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) - A decade ago, Sakae Kato stayed behind to rescue cats abandoned by neighbours who fled the radiation clouds belching from the nearby Fukushima nuclear plant. He won't leave.

"I want to make sure I am here to take care of the last one," he said from his home in the contaminated quarantine zone. "After that I want to die, whether that be a day or hour later."