JST 2017 participants visit to the Mayor of Iwaki was published in the local newspaper
The 2017 Japan Study Tour to Iwaki and Tokyo has been tweeted in detail by participants this year, the Storify blog of which can be seen via the link below.
The tour to Iwaki looked at how the massive Tohoku earthquake in east Japan of March 2011, impacted the city and surrounding area, where around 400 people in Iwaki City lost their lives, with significant damage to around 91,000 buildings.
Immediately after the earthquake the issues that arose included more than 20,000 evacuees being relocated from the nuclear evacuation area and a need to provide specific support required by the evacuees, as well as existing city residents who were also hit by the tsunami damage. This included managing and ensuring the provision of public housing and emergency accommodation for those whose houses had been badly affected by the disaster, dealing with significant damage to the coast and built up area of the city, redevelopment of residential land in conjunction with green spaces used for disaster prevention as well as the maintenance of roads. Further to this reputation damage from the nuclear incident had a major impact on the agricultural and tourism industries of Iwaki City.
Over five years have passed since the disaster, improvements continue on the basic infrastructure and presently the city is looking to the future, now in a period of transition from the fundamental reconstruction achieved to the current rebirth of the city.
Using local resources in and around Iwaki City, with over 2,000 annual hours of sunlight per year as well as 70% of the city area being made up of wooded land, biomass and other renewable energy-related industries are being supported by the municipality. Nuclear decommissioning-related research, including the use of robots, continues to be developed looking at the medium to long term, and more than ever efforts aim for resurgence in the local economy. A testing system ensuring safety and transparency of local agricultural products has been established to inform residents and make test results public with the aim of correcting harmful rumours over to the issue of radiation, and in an effort to promote inbound tourism in conjunction with the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, the city is taking advantage of the advent of the Games by promoting sports and culture in the area.
Next year’s tour to a host local authority in Japan and the theme of the tour will be published later in 2017, along with details of the application process and eligibility.
The Storify summary for 2017 can be seen here.
