. >> the mayor of minamisuma is trying to convince refugees to come home. >> what was the worst pointf the post fukushima disaster for you? >> before the disaster, 71,000 people lived here. 1,000 died in the tsunami. when the population dropped to 10,000, there wasn't a soul on the streets. >> that's when i wondered what would become of us >> reporter: yet sakari never once f considered leaving. >> no goods comes from agonizing over the past. so, i just focused on how to move the city forward into the future. >> the mayor devoted himself to making sure the city had a future, but it was a hard sell. radiation remained nigh many parts of minamisuma. >> we have letty evacuees know we are doing decontamination and are working to reduce their worries and anxieties. >> his quest to rebuild his town has been helped by a massive government led effort to nost deco decontaminate. >> what are these men doing? >> major radiation is snow that you cannot see. we have removed the dirt and grime that sticks to it. >> to reduce the radiation, all the top soil must be scraped away and replaced. contami