In Okuma, Japan, a supermarket opening drew the kind of crowd more often seen at a major event than the unveiling of a grocery store. After more than 15 years, though, the amount of fanfare makes sense, as the area continues its recovery.
Here's what to know
As The Japan Times reported, more than 500 people lined up on Oct. 2, 2026, for Maruto's new store in the Fukushima prefecture. The event was a notable milestone in a town still rebuilding after the 2011 nuclear disaster.
The launch marks Okuma's first new store since the 2011 accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings' Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
According to the outlet, Maruto operates the supermarket and is based in Iwaki, another city in Fukushima Prefecture. Shoppers enter a retail space of about 21,500 square feet (2,000 square meters), and the site also includes a drugstore and a 100-yen shop.
Customers can also use delivery and advance-order services.
More background
Okuma is one of the municipalities most closely connected to the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant accident. In neighboring Futaba, an Eon Tohoku store opened in August 2025.
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The store's opening reflects the area's ongoing reconstruction, as Fukushima Updates detailed.
The 2011 accident was devastating, but the region's resilience is on display. Reuters Plus published a feature on the region's rebound and its renewed welcome of tourists.
"Farms have been restored, fisheries revived, railways rebuilt along dramatic coastlines and cultural traditions preserved," the outlet said. "Travelers who venture north are discovering a side of Japan that is both traditional and forward-looking, where visitors are welcomed not as spectators of loss, but as guests in thriving communities."
For the locals, attracting tourists and reestablishing the region as safe and vibrant is of course important for the regional economy. More mundane developments might be just as important in returning things to normalcy after such a devastating event.
What's being done?
The Japan Times reported that the store is expected to attract business from locals who have returned to the area and from those working on its ongoing reconstruction.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Okuma Mayor Jun Yoshida described the store's importance more broadly.
"It will serve as an important base for bringing prosperity and vitality to the community," Yoshida assessed, according to the paper.
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