The Great East Japan Earthquake forced all 21,000 residents of Namie-machi, Fukushima to leave their homes on 11 March 2011.
Two years have passed since the disaster, but the high levels of residual radiation still make it impossible for the former residents to return.
As part of its efforts to document the effects of the Japanese Tsunami, Google teamed up with Namie-machi mayor Tamotsu Baba to capture the current state of the town—in similar fashion to Watanabe’s personal documentary of when he went back to visit his hometown.
Google drove Street View cars to capture panoramic images of the now ghost town that still stands, for anyone around the world to view.
The images are haunting with deserted streets, collapsed buildings and beached fishing boats—imagine, it was once lively and filled with people going about their daily routines.
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[via Google Blog]