Asubito Fukushima
Asubito Fukushima (General Incorporated Association)
Eiju Hangai, Representative Director＜Establishment of Asubito Fukushima and our ambition＞
I was a board member of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), Japanese largest electric utility company, until June
2010, just nine months before the earthquake and tsunami disaster that struck Japan’s Fukushima region in March
2011. I feel deep regret that the nuclear accident occurred.
I was born in Minamisoma City in Fukushima, and for some time starting right after the accident I volunteered todeliver relief supplies from Tokyo. Besides the disaster, Minamisoma was also suffering from reputational damage
related to the nuclear accident. A woman where I delivered relief supplies said to me, “Don’t just provide material
assistance. Please organize something for local children.” This is how my real mission in life came up—to create anorganization to produce the next generations who will take on the long-term challenge of creating new Fukushima.
Now, 12 years have passed since the devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident.
Some of the areas affected by the nuclear accident still have no timeline for residents to return home.
Decontamination has progressed in some municipalities that had been designated as evacuation zones after thenuclear accident, and the evacuation orders have been lifted little by little, but that doesn’t solve everything.
Now that 12 years have elapsed, many former residents are choosing not to return even where evacuation orders
have been lifted, especially where families with children have settled into new lives where they evacuated.
As a result, many areas are facing a drastic aging of the population. Fukushima has many workers in primaryindustries like farming and fishing, so besides this rapid aging of the community, negative consumer attitudes about
the radiation no one can see are hurting demand for Fukushima produce and products. The road to Fukushima’s
recovery will take a long time.

We believe strongly in the potential of the primary, middle, and high school children of Fukushima. They haveexperienced the disaster and nuclear accident, and they have survived. Many young people appreciate theassistance Fukushima received from all over Japan, are troubled by others’ misconceptions about their region, wantto contribute to the future of Fukushima, and want to do something to serve others. The disaster in Fukushima has
exposed some of the real problems of society today. Asubito Fukushima is offering age-specific programs todevelop the resources and the capacity of the younger generation to rebuild our region.
Asubito is coined from "asu" (tomorrow) and "bito" (person) in Japanese, and means "person who will create
tomorrow."Asubito Fukushima＜Fostering next generations of Fukushima and chain of admirations＞
Asubito Fukushima provides a place for next generations in Fukushima, including my home town Minamisoma City, to move forward in their lives.
For elementary and junior high school students, we organize hands-on learnings such as programming, drones, and hydrogen cars. For high school
students, we accompany exploratory learnings such as project-based learning, and for university students, we organize opportunities to think about thefuture.
I believe that frontrunners will be born from among them who will create new value in Fukushima, even if it is small at first. The frontrunners who create new
Fukushima will become seniors who are admired by juniors, and the "chain of admirations" will begin, in which juniors who strive to become like themselves
will appear. Through this “chain of admirations”, “Asubito Fukushima = next-generations who will create the future of Fukushima” will be produced and will
open up the future of Fukushima. This kind of admiration is what we are aiming for in Fukushima's reconstruction and revitalization, and it is also achallenge to regional revitalization.
Hands-on learnings for elementaryand junior high school students

Project-based learnings forhigh school students

Opportunities to think about thefuture for university studentsAsubito Fukushima＜Corporate training and ecosystem of human resource development＞
Asubito Fukushima provides opportunities for fostering next generations who create new Fukushima, all free of charge.
On the other hand, since 2014, we have expanded corporate training for companies around the world for a fee to make these activities sustainable.
As of the end of March 2023, more than 300 trainings in person or online have been held, with more than 7,000 participants, and these trainings have beenhighly evaluated.
On the first day of the program, we will face the coastal area of Fukushima, where time has stopped due to continued evacuation orders following theearthquake and nuclear accident, and engage in dialogue with local leaders who are overcoming the absurdity and creating new value.
On the second day, based on the extraordinary experience in Fukushima, participants face themselves and verbalize their ideal self, ideal society, and theideal work and leadership to realize these two. Verbalizing and sharing with each other leads to behavioral change.
For Asubito Fukushima, experiences learned from corporate trainings is applicable in organizing places for next generations, especially for high school anduniversity students in Fukushima. Our activities is an ecosystem of human resource development.