Tokyo Red Zone

The Tokyo Red Zone, also known as the Tokyo Exclusion Zone, is an officially designated exclusion zone around the site of the Tokyo Incident. Established by the Japanese Imperial Army shortly after the disaster, the area of the Tokyo Red Zone initially covered an area with the radius of 5 miles around the Imperial Palace, though it was expanded to nearly 20 miles in 1957 following further investigation of the effects of the disaster.

The purpose of the exclusion zone is to restrict access to hazardous areas, reduce the probability of human-beast interaction, and conduct magical monitoring of the contaminated areas. In the modern age, the Tokyo Red Zone is one of the most magically contaminated areas in the world and draws significant scientific and magical interest for the high levels of ether in the environment.

The exclusion zone is currently under the administration of the Japanese Agency of Magic.

Before 1945
Historically, the zone was the effective capital of Japan starting in the early 17th century following the start of the Tokugawa shogunate, though the Emperor continued to live in Kyoto for the next couple of centuries. After Tokugawa Yoshinobu surrendered power to the Emperor, the Emperor moved to Tokyo, and Edo Castle became the Imperial Palace.

Tokyo Incident
See also: Tokyo Incident

Much of Tokyo was destroyed during Allied firebombing campaigns and later as a result of a disastrous attempt at a Class A ritual done by the Japanese magical organization Yatagarasu. Many of the residents were killed outright, while any survivors were changed by the thick miasma into corrupted beasts.

Following the disaster the Japanese Imperial Army moved in to secure the area. They exterminated many of the corrupted beasts before establishing the original boundary of the exclusion zone.

Setup
There are currently three designations within the Tokyo Exclusion Zone with various restrictions and future prospects of human habitation. Each zone is delineated by the levels of ether in the atmosphere.

Black Zone
The Black Zone is the most severely affected area and the innermost ring of the exclusion zone. This area has incredibly high levels of ether, able to cause severe ether poisoning in less than an hour, and it is covered in a thick layer of miasma.

All residents of this area were killed during the disaster. The dangerously high levels of ether and miasma hinder any attempt at decontamination, and there is little hope that a permanent population will be able to return in the next 200 years.

Red Zone
The Red Zone, initially the name for the entire exclusion zone, is the middle ring of the exclusion zone. The Red Zone lacks the miasma of the Black Zone, but the level of ether in the atmosphere is still particularly high and poses a health risk to anyone who journeys into the zone.

The residents of the Red Zone were placed under mandatory evacuation orders, though there was some resistance to the evacuation efforts. Several people fell victim to corrupted beasts during the initial disaster. Although decontamination efforts have not begun in the Red Zone, the Japanese Agency of Magic plans for at least temporary human habitation in the next 75 years, with permanent residents within 100 years.

Green Zone
The Green Zone is the outermost ring of the exclusion zone. The zone is characterized by elevated levels of ether, though not enough to be an immediate health concern. While there are no permanent populations within the Green Zone, it is possible to travel through the Green Zone using specialized clothes that are able to ward off the ether in the air.

The most vulnerable people within the Green Zone, particularly pregnant woman and children, were immediately evacuated from the zone, while the remaining residents were moved over a period of 6 months. The Green Zone is the site of most decontamination efforts, and the Japanese government hopes to return permanent residents to the area in the next 25-50 years.

Management
The management of the Tokyo Exclusion Zone is currently under the administration of the Japanese Agency of Magic.

Policing of the exclusion zone is done by specialized units of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces who are authorized to carry weapons for the sole purpose of exterminating corrupted beasts.

Contamination
Much of the Tokyo Exclusion Zone suffers some level of magical contamination.