RESILIENCEAt Futaba Future Lab, located at Futaba Future School and run by anapproved specified NPO (nonprofit organization), Katariba, many
activities are offered to enhance interactions among people.
University students provide support and advice for local school
students, who in turn run a café for local residents.

INNOVATION AND INTERACTION DRIVE

FUKUSHIMA’SREVITALIZATIONAs the 10 th anniversary of the Great East Japan
Earthquake approaches, Fukushima finds renewed
hope as recovery picks up pace.
Left: A variety of demonstrations are conducted at this robot test field. In thephoto, physicians from Bokutoh Hospital in Sumida City (Tokyo) are conducting
a test to determine whether blood for a transfusion can be transported via a drone.
Right: A summer school, run by a university from outside the prefecture, teaches
local children about agricultural science.

18

Almost 10 years have passed since March 11, 2011,
when the Great East Japan Earthquake inflictedmassive damage on eastern Japan. In a policy speech,
Prime Minister SUGA Yoshihide said, “Without
the reconstruction of Fukushima, there will be
no reconstruction of Tohoku. And without thereconstruction of Tohoku, there will be no revival ofJapan.” Today in Fukushima, great progress is being
made toward overcoming the destruction wreaked by
the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear accident.
One project moving Fukushima’s reconstruction
forward is the Fukushima Innovation Coast
Framework. To bring back industries lost to thedisaster, the project is setting up research centers andother facilities seen as key to creating cutting-edge
industries in coastal areas of Fukushima. Companies
and students are being encouraged to take on newchallenges in such fields as energy and reactordecommissioning, as well as agriculture, forestry,and fisheries. In March 2020, the Fukushima Robot
Test Field opened fully to serve as a hub for thedevelopment and testing of robots on land, sea,and air. It is one of the world’s largest robot testing
centers, with various facilities, including a runway forlaunching unmanned aerial vehicles, an indoor tankfor testing robots running on and under water, andan urban field for emergency search and rescue drills.
Furthermore, the following September saw theopening of the Great East Japan Earthquake andNuclear Disaster Memorial Museum to share thememories and lessons of the earthquake and nuclear
accident with future generations. The museum iswelcoming numerous visitors from Fukushima
Prefecture and beyond.
Meanwhile, the region is cultivating its future
leaders. Futaba Future High School, which openedin 2015, is collaborating with other communities
to provide a unique type of problem-solving based
curriculum to students. Its
students will develop thetalents needed to carry out
the region’s reconstruction
and bring innovation tosociety. In addition, theregion is inviting figuresfrom universities within

the prefecture and beyond to engage in a wide rangeof educational research and networking, aiming topool together the country’s knowledge in Fukushima
to revitalize local communities. University
instructors run an agricultural science summer
school for local children, while university students
work with local residents to add further value totheir agricultural products by promoting primary
producers’ diversification into processing anddistribution. Those and other new ideas are helping
to solve problems in industrial reconstruction, urban
development, and other fields.
Since the earthquake, over 360 companies havecome to coastal Fukushima to run their business. ITO
Yasuo, executive managing director of the Fukushima
Innovation Coast Promotion Organization, said,“The local residents and children who are actively
working toward Fukushima’s reconstruction havecollaborated with highly motivated young people
and companies from across Japan to make Fukushima
a leader in solving problems. The exchange is enabling
further revitalization in Fukushima and injecting a
fresh stimulus.”
The avid interactions of people and their activities
taking place in Fukushima are making the region’sfuture more and more promising.
Right: The Namie roadside restand service area opened in August2020. Among the items for sale
are locally produced vegetablesand seafood. Additionally,hydrogen produced at theFukushima Hydrogen Energy
Research Field is used for thearea’s electricity.
Bottom: The Great East Japan
Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster
Memorial Museum opened inSeptember 2020. Before its firstmonth ended, the museum had
already attracted 10,000 visitors.

19