They should have been evacuated. It's one thing to be asked to stay inside for a day or so if conditions are expected to improve, it's quite another to ask people to stay indoors indefinitely during a developing situation that continues to go from bad to worse.

Fate of Those Living Near Power Plant Raises Concerns
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405...

...The plight of Mr. Takahashi and other residents nearby is becoming one of the most pressing questions of Japan's nuclear drama, as authorities struggle to regain full control of the embattled Fukushima Daiichi plant. Trapped in a no-man's land between areas with potentially dangerous radiation and areas without unusual readings, they are agonizing over whether to stay or to abandon communities they may never see again in normal times.
-snip

The area in the next 10 kilometers, stretching out to the 30-kilometer boundary, is busy, with at least 20,000 of its 140,000 residents still there despite shortages of food and fuel. Most are in the city of Minamisoma, parts of which are within the 20-kilometer to 30-kilometer zone, parts of which are outside. In recent days, authorities have acknowledged they may need to extend the size of the evacuation area, potentially encompassing all of the city, while American authorities have suggested people stay 80 kilometers away from the facility.
-snip

What's stressful, the city official said, is being stuck indoors when people need to start rebuilding and repairing roads, some of which were damaged in the disaster.

For now, Minamisoma city seems to be in a pocket of relatively lower radition, but given the difficulty of going through more dangerous areas to get to them, they're still screwed. People are talking about rebuilding, clinging to the unrealistic hope that things will return to normal and they can go on with their lives as before, while the government dithers over extending the evacuation zone. Drawing out the inevitable this way is just cruel.