. >> i'm mayor katsunobu sakurai of minami-soma. this year's noma-oi festival, in the hopes of recovery for our residents affected by the nuclear crisis, is being held per the custom. >> reporter: at 20 miles north of the dai-ichi plant, minami- soma was cut off from the rest of the world two years ago by radioactive plumes. not even aid trucks would come near. mayor sakurai uploaded a plea for help on youtube. >> the banks are closed. the people are literally drying up as if they're under starvation tactics. >> reporter: eiju hangai, a tokyo-based businessman born and raised in minami-soma, felt a particular responsibility to help. he'd spent 32 years working for tepco, the utility that operated the stricken nuclear power plant. he'd wanted to work at the utility since he was a little boy. >> my grandfather took me to the construction site of the fukushima dai-ichi reactor one. this was where japan's energy was going to be made with nuclear power for the first time. that left a powerful impression on me. >> reporter: but now the cr