Students who entered the Phoenix Leader Education Program in October 2023 conducted the 32nd Short Field Visit under the theme of “Sense Fukushima -Capturing the Current Situation in Fukushima-” from Friday, October 20 to Saturday, October 21, 2023.

In the morning of the 20th, students went to Yamamoto town, Miyagi Prefecture, to visit Nakahama Elementary School, a ruin the Great East Japan Earthquake, and learned about tsunami damage, evacuation, and the importance of preparing for disasters. In the afternoon, students visited an interim storage facility in Okuma town, Fukushima Prefecture, and learned about the current status of interim storage of decontaminated soil. Later, in Minamisoma city, students received a lecture on the damages and problems caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake and the accident at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant from a doctor who has been working in Minamisoma city since before the disaster.

On the 21st, students visited the home of residents who experienced the earthquake, the nuclear power plant accident, and the evacuation, and interviewed them about their hardships during the disaster and current issues arising in the community.

New program students will utilize what they learn from this short field visit in their future activities, and aim to become global leaders in the field of radiation disaster recovery by learning through interdisciplinary studies.

　
Site visit at Nakahama Elementary School

　Site visit at Interim Storage Facility