Come on in, the water's not radioactive: Families flock to Fukushima beach after officials declare it safe to swim in sea 16 months after nuclear disaster

About 1,000 people yesterday descended on Nakoso beach, about 40miles south of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, where three reactors melted down after the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami

Officials in Japan have opened Fukushima state's first beach to swimmers since last year's nuclear disaster after judging the water to be safe.

About 1,000 people yesterday descended on Nakoso beach, about 40miles south of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, where three reactors melted down after the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami.



The opening was celebrated with beach volleyball games and hula dancers from a nearby spa.



A family plays on Nakoso Beach in Iwaki in Japan's Fukushima state. The beach is the first to be opened to the public since the nearby nuclear power station meltdown following the earthquake and tsunami of March 2011

Playtime: About 1,000 people yesterday descended on Nakoso beach, about 40miles south of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant

Iwaki city official Joji Kimura said negligible radiation was detected in water at the beach.

Airborne radiation was measured at 0.08 microsieverts an hour, far below dangerous levels.



Swimming had been banned at all beaches in the state since the disaster last March.

The opening took place on the same day that the Japanese government came under fire over its handling of public hearings on nuclear energy policy.

The criticism threatens to dent already sagging support for the ruling party ahead of an election many expect to be this year.

The latest furore follows Monday's massive rally in Tokyo against nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima disaster.

Local officials and analysts say the issue is now so contentious that it could trump taxes as the focus of lower house elections, which must be held by September 2013 but could come sooner.

News that power company employees were among the few chosen to speak at hearings on changes to energy policy after Fukushima, the world's worst atomic disaster in 25 years, have been greeted with widespread scepticism.

On duty: Three local women working as tour guides enter the water in front of a gaggle of photographers and cameramen

Mass demonstrations: Anti-nuclear energy protesters march through Tokyo on Monday

Fun times: An anti-nuclear protester dressed as a clown is watched by police officers

Koichi Nakano , a professor at Sophia University, said: 'This gives the impression that they haven't learned anything.'

It echoes a scandal just one year ago, when Kyushu Electric Power sought to sway public opinion at a hearing on restarting reactors in southern Japan.

In a sign of the growing discontent, more than 100,000 anti-nuclear protesters marched in Tokyo on Monday, adding to pressure on Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, already struggling as his Democratic Party unravels over plans to hike the sales tax to curb public debt.

Mr Nakano said: 'The anti-nuclear people are calling for the Democrats to be voted out.'

The rally was the biggest since Noda said last month that Japan needs to restart idled nuclear reactors to protect jobs and the economy.

Damning: The nuclear accident at Fukushima last year was a 'man-made disaster' and not completely because of the tsunami, a report said earlier this month

Reactor meltdown: The damning indictment was delivered by the Japanese parliamentary panel

Disaster: Smoke is pictured ascending from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant's Unit 3 in Okumamachi in Fukushima Prefecture on March 14 last year

The government is considering three options for its medium-term energy portfolio - reduce nuclear power's role to zero as soon as possible, aim at a 15 per cent share by 2030, and seek a 20 to 25 per cent share by the same date.

The new energy mix, to be decided in August, will replace a scrapped 2010 programme that had sought to raise nuclear power's share to more than half of electricity needs by 2030 from about 30 per cent before the March 2011 disaster.

The Fukushima disaster forced some 150,000 people to flee their homes, many never to return. Some committed suicide after seeing their homes and livelihoods destroyed.