The 33rd Short Field Visit was conducted for students who under the theme of “Sense Fukushima -Capturing the Current Situation in Fukushima-” from October 24 to 26, 2024.

In the morning of the 25th, students went to Yamamoto town, Miyagi Prefecture, to visit Nakahama elementary school, a disaster ruin in the affected area of the Great East Japan Earthquake, and learned about tsunami damage, evacuation, and the importance of preparing for disasters.

In the afternoon, students visited “Reprun Fukushima (Specified Waste Landfill Information Center)” in Tomioka-machi, Fukushima Prefecture, to learn how contaminated soil and waste produced by the accident at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station are collected, stored, and disposed of.

Thereafter, in Minamisoma city, a doctor who has been working in Minamisoma city since before the earthquake gave a lecture on the impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the accident at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on local medical care and current issues.

Students also exchanged opinions with residents who had experienced the earthquake, the nuclear power plant accident, and evacuation. And interviewed them about their hardships at the time of the disaster and the issues which currently the community is facing.

On the 26th, students visited the Nagadori district of Iitate Village to learn about a project to reform and reuse decontaminated soil generated by decontamination activities as recycled soil. They also deepened their understanding of activities for the recovery and development of Fukushima Prefecture through the reuse of such recycled soil in the agricultural sector.

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.

Nakahama elementary school

Nagadori district, Iitate Village