In this Wednesday, June 8, 2011 photo, portraits of ancient physicists and mathematicians hang on a wall in a school in the deserted town of Pripyat, Ukraine, some 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) from the Chernobyl nuclear plant. Chernobyl and Fukushima are some 5,000 miles apart but have much in common. The towns nearest to each of these stricken nuclear power stations, in Ukraine and Japan, whose disasters struck 25 years apart, already reveal eerie similarities.
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In this Thursday, April 21, 2011 photo, a dog walks across a street in the deserted town of Futaba, inside the 20-kilometer (12-mile) evacuation zone around the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.
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In this Thursday, April 21, 2011 photo a fan rests on the wall of a house in in the deserted town of Futaba, inside the 20-kilometer (12-mile) evacuation zone around the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.
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This Wednesday, June 8, 2011 photo shows a Ferris wheel at a playground in the deserted town of Pripyat, Ukraine, some 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) from the Chernobyl nuclear plant.
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This Wednesday, June 8, 2011 photo shows dilapidated shelves in a dressing room of a kindergarten at the deserted town of Pripyat, Ukraine, some 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) from the Chernobyl nuclear plant.
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This Thursday, April 21, 2011 photo shows a close up of a model of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant at the local history museum in Futaba, inside the 20-kilometer (12-mile) evacuation zone around the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.
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This Thursday, April 21, 2011 photo shows a handicapped symbol in a parking lot of the deserted town of Futaba, inside the 20-kilometer (12-mile) evacuation zone around the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.
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This Wednesday, June 8, 2011 photo shows graffiti on the walls of a building in the deserted town of Pripyat, Ukraine, some 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) from the Chernobyl nuclear plant.
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This Thursday, April 21, 2011 picture shows umbrella locks at the local history museum in Futaba, inside the 20-kilometer (12-mile) evacuation zone around the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.
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In this Thursday, April 21, 2011 photo, a gurney and other platforms lie in front of the entrance to a hospital in the deserted town of Futaba, inside the 20-kilometer (12-mile) evacuation zone around the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.
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This Thursday, April 21, 2011 photo shows a statue of the Buddha in the deserted town of Futaba, inside the 20-kilometer (12-mile) evacuation zone around the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.
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In this Wednesday, June 8, 2011, shoes occupy cubby holes in the dressing room of a kindergarten in the deserted town of Futaba, inside the 20-kilometer (12-mile) evacuation zone around the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.
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This Sunday, April 2, 2006 photo shows a monument to firefighters and emergency workers in the deserted town of Pripyat, Ukraine, some 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) from the Chernobyl nuclear plant.
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This Thursday, April 21, 2011 photo shows a playground at a kindergarten in the deserted town of Futaba, inside the 20-kilometer (12-mile) evacuation zone around the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.
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In this Wednesday, June 8, 2011 photo, a doll with a gas mask lies on the frame of a bed in the sleeping room of a kindergarten in the deserted town of in Pripyat, Ukraine, some 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) from the Chernobyl nuclear plant.
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In this Thursday, April 21, 2011 photo, a bicycle lies on the ground in the deserted town of Futaba, inside the 20-kilometer (12-mile) evacuation zone around the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.
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This Wednesday, June 8, 2011 photo shows numbered pegs in a cloakroom of a hospital in the deserted town of Pripyat, Ukraine, some 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) from the Chernobyl nuclear plant.
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In this Sunday, April 2, 2006 photo, a dog walks in the deserted town of Pripyat, Ukraine, some 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) from the Chernobyl nuclear plant.
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In this Thursday, April 21, 2011 photo, cherry tree blossom petals collect in a puddle in the deserted town of Futaba, inside the 20-kilometer (12-mile) evacuation zone around the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.
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In this Sunday, April 2, 2006 photo, a childÂ’s bed lies in front of a wall with peeling paint in the deserted town of Pripyat, Ukraine, some 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) from the Chernobyl nuclear plant.
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This April 2, 2006 photo shows an obstetric chair in front of a hospital in the deserted town of Pripyat, some 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) from the Chernobyl nuclear plant.
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This Wednesday, June 8, 2011 photo shows a Soviet emblem atop an apartment building in the deserted town of Pripyat, Ukraine, some 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) from the Chernobyl nuclear plant.
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