The 35th Short Field Visit was conducted for students who under the theme of “Sense Fukushima -Capturing the Current Situation in Fukushima-” from October 17 to 18, 2025.

　In the morning of the 17th, 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.

　Thereafter, in Minamisoma city, Dr. Tomoyoshi Oikawa from Minamisoma Municipal General Hospital 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. In the session, students interviewed the residents about their hardships at the time of the disaster and the issues which currently the community is facing.

　On the 18th, students visited Iitate Village and interviewed a resident who has independently continued measuring radiation levels in soil, crops, mushrooms, and wild vegetables since the disaster. Students learned that wild vegetables and mushrooms remain highly contaminated to this day.

　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 @ Nakahama elementary school

Site visit @ Reprun Fukushima