Thursday 16 July 2015, from 13:20-16:00
Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre at UCL, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT
Mr Masao Uchibori, Governor of Fukuoka Prefecture
Prof. Shinichi Ohnuma, Prof. Peter Sammonds, and Dr Hidekazu Kurebayashi (UCL)
Registration at Eventbrite.
We are pleased to announce that we will host a half-day symposium for “Revitalisation of Fukushima after East-Japan Earthquake” on 16 July 2015, at the Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre in UCL. This will include a speech by Mr Masao Uchibori, the Governor of Fukushima Prefecture, followed by several talks by high school pupils from Fukushima and UCL Academy. During the entire afternoon, there will be an exhibition from Fukushima in South Cloisters including a variety of local products and sake, as well as some refreshments provided. After the symposium, there will also be a reception in South Cloisters to encourage interactions with our Japanese guests.
The Great East Japan earthquake on 11 March 2011 is the most powerful one ever recorded to have hit Japan. This also triggered a massive tsunami that wiped out many areas on the Pacific coast side of Japan. The Fukushima area has been severely damaged by the tsunami, and the Fukushima nuclear power plant complex had electric power shutdown that resulted in meltdowns. Hundreds of thousands of people were affected, and residents within a certain radius of the nuclear plant were evacuated.
After a chain of disasters, many countries including the UK have brought significant aid and support to Japan. UCL, in particular, held several symposiums to help support academia in Japan, such as UK-Japan Symposium on Disasters, organized by Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction (IRDR) of UCL. At this coming event, Mr Masao Uchibori, Governor of Fukushima Prefecture, will have an official visit to UCL with many high school students of Fukushima. As part of it, he will give a speech in the symposium to share the current status of the Fukushima region as well as their ongoing recovery processes from the damages and also to express acknowledgement to the British community and UCL for their support. The high school students from Fukushima and UCL Academy will present their studies on the disaster and life of people who live there.
We hope to see many of you joining this symposium and learning what has happened and is happening in Fukushima.
