The 30th Short Field Visit was held in Fukushima Prefecture from December 1 to 3, 2022, under the theme of “Sense Fukushima – Catching the Current State of Fukushima” for new students who enrolled October 2022.

The purpose of this short field visit was to “enhance the students’ motivation to study in  program by learning about the reality of the radiation disaster and realizing the importance of a cross-disciplinary approach at an early stage of the program”.

On December 2, the students visited the Soma City Traditional Requiem Memorial Hall, the Remains of the earthquake Namie Town Ukedo Elementary School, and the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Museum. They also learned from Dr. Oikawa, Director of Minamisoma City General Hospital, about his experiences and hardships at the time of the earthquake.

On December 3, the students had a round-table meeting with residents affected by the disaster and learned about the actual situation of evacuation and efforts to revitalize communities. At the Environmental Restoration Plaza of the Ministry of the Environment, they learned about decontamination efforts.

During the whole trip, students carried radiation measuring instruments to check radiation levels.

After this visit, students commented that “the tour gave me motivation for further study” or “I learned things that they could not learn from articles or textbooks”.

Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Museum

Environmental Restoration Plaza