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The University of Osaka Opens Fukushima Center to support restoration and education in the disaster-stricken area in Fukushima Prefecture
On August 6, 2024, The University of Osaka (UOsaka) opened the University of Osaka Fukushima Center in Okuma Town, Futaba District, Fukushima Prefecture as its support activity base.
UOsaka has performed surveys and training in Fukushima immediately after it started support activity in the areas affected by the Tohoku Earthquake in March 2011. In 2016, the university started Hamadohri Environmental Radiation School, an educational program for students to learn about the state of environmental radiation after the nuclear accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station in Fukushima Prefecture from the perspectives of natural science and social science.
In this program conducted in cooperative with Iitate Village, Okuma Town, and Futaba Town in the prefecture, students, international students, and students from other universities, regardless of year or major, can participate to obtain accurate knowledge on radiation and deepen their understanding of social impacts induced by radiation through radiation measurements, observations of the disaster area, and communications with residents in the area. Starting with some 10 participants, currently the participant number increased up to over 200.
For opening the Okuma/University Joint Research and Support Center, Okuma-machi offered UOsaka the office space in the Center for rent, resulting in the establishment of The University of Osaka Fukushima Center.
On August 6, 2024, NAKANO Takashi (Director, Research Center for Nuclear Physics (RCNP)) attended the opening ceremony held together with Okuma-machi, and read a message by President NISHIO Shojiro to declare that UOsaka will contribute to restoring the areas affected by The Great East Japan Earthquake, an unprecedented catastrophe.
Prior to the opening ceremony, on July 23, representatives from Okuma-machi, including Mayor YOSHIDA Jun and Superintendent of Education SATO Yoshihiro, visited UOsaka to talk with President Nishio, Executive Vice President TANAKA Toshihiro, Director Nakano of the RCNP, and Professor OKADA Michio of the Institute for Radiation Sciences (IRS) about research to solve challenges in supporting recovery of disaster-stricken areas and development of human resources.
They had a passionate discussion about education, especially, regarding Okuma-machi’s unique efforts to offer education customized learning for each student’s individuality through the Manabiya Yumenomori project. UOsaka presented its vision to develop the RCNP’s Mebae Tekijuku project to nurture future scientists for elementary, junior high, and high school students along with the Manabiya Yumenomori project.
The Hamadohri Environmental Radiation School project, which started in 2016, will be now be conducted at the Fukushima Center. Previously, the project was held only twice a year because of the lack of a permanent base, but the university plans to increase the number of training days and expand the scale.
The Mebae Tekijuku project, which has drawn attention from municipal governments in Fukushima Prefecture, will develop various activities in the prefecture, including the first science classroom for elementary, junior high, and high school students on August 23.
Moving forward, UOsaka will further revitalize education and research using the Fukushima Center as a base and promote new endeavors in cooperation with other universities and institutions. The university intends to make a maximum effort to support and reconstruction following the Tohoku Earthquake.
What is Mebae Tekijuku?
Mebae Tekijuku is an educational program to provide elementary, junior high, and high school students interested in science with chances to refine their skills in science through practical training and exercises so that they can become scientists in the future.
The website of the Research Center for Nuclear Physics can be found here.