In January 2024, a group of staff working in local government in the UK visited Fukushima Prefecture as part of the 2024 Japan Study Tour. This year’s theme was ‘Reconstruction and Recovery’.
The tour began in Tokyo, where participants attended a lecture about Japanese local government structure from Professor Shunsuke Kimura of Meiji University. They also visited the Honjo Life Safety Learning Centre to learn more about the different types of natural disasters occurring in Japan. The learning centre is an interactive space for the whole community featuring an earthquake simulator, typhoon simulator and flooding awareness section. The tour participants were impressed to see school groups and visitors of all ages who had come to the centre to learn more about disaster prevention.
The study tour then continued in Fukushima Prefecture, where the participants visited many sites related to the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, such as The Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum. The participants were interested to see the new preventative measures that have been taken in the area, such as the construction of a new sea wall.
There were also site visits that showed the progress that Fukushima is making towards reconstruction and revitalisation. Participants were glad to meet the mayor of Motomiya City, who described some of the recovery work that is ongoing in the prefecture. The mayor also showed the group around Prince William’s Park in Motomiya City and discussed the connection between Motomiya and the UK.
The tour also featured site visits to areas of technological innovation, such as the Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field and the Fukushima Robot Test Field. The participants were very interested to hear about the Fukushima Innovation Coast Framework, a project which aims to restore industry lost in the coastal area after the disaster. The group expressed an interest in taking these ideas back to the UK with them which will hopefully inspire similar projects in their home organisations.
As well as learning about the steps that local government in Fukushima is taking towards recovery and revitalisation, the participants were very grateful to be warmly welcomed by the people of Fukushima and experience the local culture. In particular, the participants enjoyed sampling the local produce at a strawberry farm and enjoying delicious traditional meals when staying at a ryokan. At the Fukushima Agricultural Technological Centre, they learnt about how produce in Fukushima is tested to meet high safety standards.
JLGC would like to thank Fukushima Prefectural Government and all the host organisations for kindly giving their time to organise such interesting and impactful visits.
