C

O

N

P3

Project schedule

P5

Special feature report 1:

T

E

N

T

S

What have we learnt?

P11 Special feature report 2:

Leadership required now, forthe development of humanresources to drive regional
prosperity and for theembracing of a long-term
decommissioning process asa societal advantage.

Learnings from developmentally-advanced
regions for the future of regional development

P15 Special feature report 3:

Sellafield: thoughts from British high school
students

P19 Field report 1: Study trip ~ The United Kingdom
P21 Field report 2: Study trip ~ Fukushima & Aomori
P23 Fostering future generations to complete the decommissioning
P25 Preventing the fading of memories
P27 A female Japanese leader in the UK
P29 The spirit of leadership
P31 Cover story 1:
Positive branding of decommissioning as a regional advantage
P33 Cover story 2:
Regional consensus - the key to a long-term decommissioning process
P35 Summary
P36 Key messages as a representative of Fukushima
P37 The future
P38 Editor’s postscript

List of Participants
Ms. Mana Saito (Shinchi high school)
Mr. Kou Furuhashi (Shinchi high school)
Ms. Erika Sato (Soma high school)
Ms. Yuka Tadano (Soma high school)
Mr. Ukyo Momma (Soma high school)
Ms. Yoshino Kageyama (Soma high school)
Ms. Sena Muroi (Soma high school)
Mr. Souta Hanai (Haramachi high school)
Ms. Saeki Hoshi (Soma agricultural high school)
Mr. Hiroto Enei
(Odaka industrial technology and commerce high school)

1

Mr. Daiki Fukuyama(Odaka industrial technology and commerce high school)

Ms. Yui Ito (Iwaki high school)
Ms. Fuyu Suzuki (Iwaki high school)
Mr. Hajime Nishimura (Iwaki high school)
Ms. Yuka Minato (Iwaki high school)
Ms. Maho Kudo (Iwaki Sakuragaoka high school)
Ms. Natsuho Maekawa (Iwaki Sakuragaoka high school)
Ms. Kako Sasaki (Iwaki Sakuragaoka high school)
Mr. Takanobu Horii (Yumoto high school)
Mr. Toshiyasu Shioya (Asaka high school)2

Project schedule

UK
6th
Aug,
Tue
・Departure ceremony,
Naraha roadside station

・Departure, Narita int. airport
・Flight to Abu Dhabi, EY871,
11h 55m

7th
Aug,
Wed

8th
Aug,
Thu

9th
Aug,
Fri

・Transit at Abu Dhabi int. airport
・Flight to Manchester int. airport,
EY15, 7h 40m
・Arrival at Manchester

・Visit to Sellafield Ltd(Visitor house, Facilities)
・Site tour in two groups,
morning & afternoon
・THORP (Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant)

・Free group activity inWindermere, Lake District・Calder Hall nuclear
reactor・Remote handlingtraining centre
・3D printing demonstration,
Innovation centre

・Meeting

mission・Visit to WLA (West Lakes Academy)・Welcome ceremony
・Presentations
by Fukushima students(Groups 1 and 2)
・WLA presentation
・Visit to NCfN
(National College for Nuclear)

10th
Aug,
Sat

11th
Aug,
Sun

・Training & review at
Beacon Museum

・Free group activity inWhitehaven・Preparation work for
London visit

・Networking events・Meeting

・Meeting

・Visit to Wembley stadium in London

・Arrival at UCL (University College London)
dormitory
・Free group activity,
shopping mall・Meeting

UK mission
12th
Aug,
Mon
・Visit to Cambridge University, tour of facilities
・Visit to the Dojima brewery, lecture by
Ms. Hashimoto, vicepresident

13th
Aug,
Tue
・Free time in London
・Visit to the Embassy ofJapan, lecture by
Ambassador Tsuruoka

Japan mission (Rokkasho village)
15th
Aug,
Thu

14th
Aug,
Wed
・Free group activity in London

・Departure, Heathrow
int. airport
・Flight to Abu Dhabi int.
airport, EY12, 7h 20m
・Transit at Abu Dhabi
int. airport,
・Flight to Narita int.
airport, EY 878, 10h

・Visit to UCL, tour of facilities & lecture
・Free group activity,
shopping mall

16
Aug,
Fri
th

・Meeting
・Presentation(Groups 3 and 4) &Soran-bushi
performance in
St. James’s Church,
Piccadilly
・Meeting

・Arrival at Narita int.
airport・Closing ceremony
・Arrival at Iwaki railway
station & Naraha
roadside station

・Meeting

Japan
8th
Oct,
Tue

・British WLA highschool students’arrival at J-Village

9th
Oct,
Wed
・(WLA) Rice harvesting
experience & Nara rice
field art・(WLA) Networking &club activities at Iwaki
Sakuragaoka highschool

3

10th
Oct,
Thu
・(WLA) TEPCO
Decommissioning
Archive Center &Fukushima Daiichi
Nuclear Power Station
・(WLA) Hand-copying of asutra at Dairakuin temple

11th
Oct,
Fri

・(WLA) Interim Storage
Facility in Futaba-town
・(WLA) Visit to Futabatown,“difficult to return”
area
・Lunch at Josui restaurant・(WLA) Taiko-drum
performance at theHirono town hall・Staff meeting

22nd
Sept,
Sun
・Arrival at Rokkasho visitor
center via Sendai station
・Uranium enrichment facility
・Low-level waste depository
・Reprocessing control room
・Spent fuel storage
・High-level radioactive
material facility
・Mega solar generation plant・Lecture by Mr. Masuda,president of Japan Nuclear
Fuel Ltd.
・Wrap up, guidance

23rd
Sept,
Mon
・Local village office・Aomori Gennen Technology
Center・Institute for Environmental
Sciences・National Institutes for
Quantum and Radiological
Science and Technology,
nuclear fusion research facility
・Aomori prefecture Quantum
Science Center・ Wrap up
・Sendai station via the
Rokka Pokka spa

mission
12th
Oct,
Sat

・(Fukushima students)
Orientation at Hatago
Inn・(Fukushima students)
Fukushima Daini
Nuclear Power Station
・(WLA) Fukushima
Daiichi Nuclear Power
Station・Football match,
Fukushima students vs WLA at J-Village
・Welcome & networking event,WLA dance
performance video
・Wrap up

13th
Oct,
Sun

・Joint meeting
・Preparation work
& rehearsal for thepresentation, Soranbushi performance practice

14th
Oct,
Mon
・Final rehearsal
・Conference
opening,presentations &discussion by
students
・(Fukushima students)
closing ceremony・(WLA) Visit to Asakusa& Odaiba

15th
Oct,
Tue
・(WLA) Departure from
Narita int. airport

4Special feature report 1: What have we learnt?

these matters, but throughmy experience in this program, I gained a broader
view which made me realizethat decommissioning work
is much more involved thanI thought, and that there arecomplicated issues when we
take into account Japan’s
energy security.

Panel discussion 1■ Natsuho Maekawa(Iwaki Sakuragaoka high school)

Special feature report 1

What have we learnt?
・・・

In our visit to the UK, Rokkasho village in Aomori and our home town of
Hamadori in Fukushima, what did we see and feel about the experience?
Can we apply the knowledge we acquired to shape the future of our region?
Participants from ” Hamadori, Fukushima HIGH SCHOOL ACADEMY” talk about
their insights.
■ Hajime Nishimura(Iwaki high school)

diation issues was not what
we had imagined before. I
realized that I had an exaggerated image of the issues
that was inconsistent withthe reality.

■ Toshiyasu Shioya(Asaka high school)

I feel that our perceptions
can differ from the actual
facts on the ground. For
instance, the reality of ra5

Actual facts brought clarity to what were previously
vague ideas and this made a
big impact on me. You heara lot of talk like “Decommis-

sioning? Don’t worry about
it. Just leave things as they
are” or “Just use non-nuclear power”. Previously, I only
had ambiguous ideas on

I was shocked at theamount of serious misunderstandings on my part. I
learnt that I should understand things more precisely
before expressing my opinion.
We, as residents here,
have to have a deep understanding of developments in
our region since the nuclear accident so that we canproperly relay this to people
in other areas, including
those overseas. By doing so,
we can preserve past memories and prevent harmful
rumors, and may be able tocome up with new ideas.

■ Yoshino Kageyama(Soma high school)

What should we do to enable people to understand?

Accurate information is vital. For example, the provision of correct information
to people stuck on the ideathat Fukushima is totallycontaminated is necessary
to dispel their pre-conceived
notions.
Furthermore, we need tokeep two things in mind.
The first one is persuasion.
A persuasive explanation
with fact-based data given
by a suitable person canmake a difference. The second one is information dissemination. The matter ofwhether we can embed areasonable, common sense
viewpoint deep within oursociety across a broad baseis an important one.

ar power station and former
head of decommissioning &contaminated water management, was impressive. He said
“information should not begiven unilaterally, but shouldbe absorbed naturally.”
I learnt that information
should be delivered carefully
to the right person in the rightmanner, rather than it being
a one-sided affair performed
to the satisfaction of only one
party.

■ Kou Furuhashi(Shinchi high school)

I learnt presentation skills,
in how to express emotional
feelings in a speech. I was
so moved by speeches givenby the head of WLA andNishimoto-san. I would liketo make such a speech which
resonates in people’s hearts inthe future.

■ Erika Sato

(Soma high school)■ Fuyu Suzuki(Iwaki high school)

Relating to that point, acomment by Mr. Masuda,
the former Superintendentof Fukushima Daini nucle-

I learnt something aboutcommunication too. Visibility of effort in trying tocommunicate is important.
Actually, when I went to acafé in the UK, I ended up
in a conversation with agentleman there. Although
I was not confident in my6Special feature report 1: What have we learnt?

English ability, I managed tohave an enjoyable momentwith him by making sincere
efforts to communicate.

■ Natsuho Maekawa■ Toshiyasu Shioya―Was there anything in particular that made alasting impression on you during your experience?

Information dissemination and understanding areconnected to learning andteaching. When we learnsomething, it is importantto have actual experience.
When we visited the Sellafield site, and renewable andnuclear reprocessing facilities in Rokkasho village,
hearing the stories of people
who actually took part in the
response to the accident at
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
power station made a big
impact on me that I could
not have gained via books or
the internet.

7

The advice from Mr. Tsuruoka, Ambassador to the UK,
was profound. He told us that “There is so much information
circulating throughout the world. We have to order this carefully ourselves, and then take action or disseminate information without being passive or adopting a defensive attitude”.
He also mentioned that the younger generation is inclined
to be passive. Certainly, we have such a tendency. On theother hand, there are some youngsters, like those of us who
were there that day, who actively seek to gain an understanding on areas of uncertainty. I hope that more opportunities like this project are available in the future.

■ Fuyu Suzuki

Mr. Masuda told us
that, when faced with alife-threatening situation at
the Fukushima Daini nuclear
power station, he tried hisbest to ask his staff for assistance to get the job done,
rather than just order them.
Everybody must be extremely worried in such a situation but needs to respond.
I realized how difficult, but
how important, leadershipand teamwork are in such a
crucial situation.

■ Natsuho Maekawa

I agree. I also learnt thatleaders are required to consider solutions from thepoint of view of their colleagues so that they canfollow their leader easily andnaturally. When we visitedthe Fukushima Daini nuclear
power station, workers there
confirmed to us that Mr.
Masuda’s caring attitude setthem at ease and convinced
them to follow his ideas.

■ Toshiyasu Shioya

Talking about people’s
unwillingness to follow aleader, I think that having
a clear vision of the futureleads to a better process of
implementation for many
people. I felt that on threeoccasions during my visit to
the UK and Rokkasho village.
Sellafield has a decommissioning plan which will take
100 years to complete. Rokkasho village also has a planfor the storage and transportation of radioactive waste,
which provides a clear pathto the future. And Mr. Masuda created such a path when
he was in charge of Fukushima Daini nuclear power station amid the disaster. I am
not confident that my understanding is fully correct, but
I believe that by pursuing agoal or target with a practical, concrete plan, we canbuild the confidence of people around us.

■ Kou Furuhashi

I was impressed by one of
the workers at Sellafield. He
described his job as being“my own son”. This expression would never come fromsomeone who was working
unwillingly. He is betting hislife on his job. I would liketo be able to call my job “myown son” one day.

■ Toshiyasu Shioya

Sellafield and its surrounding area have along history. People
working in decommissioning there are proudof their long-term contribution to the work.
The cutting edge technology developed at thesite gives them confidence.
Here in Fukushima, we can adopt a similar attitude toward
the decommissioning work. There is a mixture of people
with a positive image of decommissioning and people with anegative, almost guilty image. By taking pride in one’s job,
the work can proceed more smoothly.

―A negative matter can sometimes turn out to be asource of new discovery. The act of observing a matter from various aspects can be applicable to manycases.
■ Yoshino Kageyama

I gained a fresh perspective through my visits tolaboratories and research
institutes in Rokkasho village. I was surprised that
there were various areas ofresearch and development
to utilize nuclear technologies in other industries, suchas the medical industry. I
was struck by the fact that,
despite the negative imageof nuclear technologies, they
can also be used for positive
purposes to forge a brighter
future. I think we can apply
this attitude in Fukushima
too. Precisely because of
the nuclear accident, we
now have the opportunity tobroaden our horizons andareas of activity.

■ Fuyu Suzuki

I would like to commenton the need to broaden
one’s horizon. Ambassador
Tsuruoka emphasized to us
the word “Why?”. My interpretation of this was that it
is important for us to lookat the facts, dig into doubts
and seek to understanding
the root of an issue.

8Special feature report 1: What have we learnt?

■ Yoshino Kageyama

I felt that not only accepting facts, but also considering them carefully myself
is necessary. When I heard
about the tour plan to visit
Rokkasho village, I did notknow anything about it. So I
researched it on the internet
and found that there weremany malicious comments.
But, I thought that if I believed these comments, I
could have been trapped ina negative posture.
I thought “Am I doing
the same thing with people
who have a bad image ofFukushima? To avoid this,I should see what is happening in Rokkasho with
my own eyes”. This was themain purpose of my visit
to the Rokkasho project.
I found that it was a very
clean place that is working
toward a brighter future.

■ Toshiyasu Shioya

There are some people
who stick to their opinion
without observing facts. How
to deal with these people
in the same community is adifficult issue. It may soundnegative, but by patiently
interacting with and cooperating with other supportive
people around them, we
may be able to change thesituation.

9■ Kou Furuhashi

In this project, we hadmany hard discussions on
the importance of clear opinion expression as part of ourgroup work, which I thinkgave me important knowledge for when I become an
adult.

■ Natsuho Maekawa

It is not easy to express
one’s opinion clearly, but I
will try to improve my ability
to do this as I also learnt just
how important it is throughmy experience this time.
By exchanging information
with others, we can convince them of things, makethem feel at ease, or even
effect emotional changes.

I am also being stimulated
by information from friends
and colleagues. I will continue expressing my opinion
clearly and listening to thoseof others.

■ Toshiyasu Shioya

I think that disseminationof the knowledge that wehave acquired is important,but further action to use thatknowledge to influence thosearound us is also required.
At the Dojima Sake Brewery in the UK, a bottle ofsake was sold for 250,000
yen. Despite this high pricefor Japanese sake, it was regarded as good value due toits high quality. In Japan, forinstance, people tend to beevaluated by their seniority
or due to certain constraints.
As a result, some people are
not valued to a level that
corresponds with their actual performance. I would liketo use the knowledge I havegained to take concrete steps
to create an environment inwhich people receive a fairand just evaluation.

er, I will tell them of the invaluable experience I gained
through this project.

■ Fuyu Suzuki

I have a dream to be ateacher in Fukushima. I
hope that the great stimulation I have experienced
through this program translates into an ability to teachstudents in the future. I want
students to take more pridein their home town and be
more fond of it. As a teach-10Special feature report 2: Learnings from developmentally-advanced regions for the future of regional development

They painted a much more
vivid picture than if I were tohear the story second hand.
People involved in revitalization activities and decommissioning work in Fukushima
could also tell of their experiences and skills from an educational standpoint.

Panel discussion 2■Yuka Tadano(Soma high school)

also decreasing. There are
only three universities whichhave courses with the word
“nuclear” in Japan. Although
it seems like that might be
all that is needed, this is unthinkable if we consider thesituation in Fukushima. Suchhuman resources are vital fordecommissioning work, andFukushima has many opportunities for them to learn anddevelop their skills.

accident. Making contact withthese people would be very
meaningful. As has been mentioned, we might be able tolearn a lot from those who are
actually engaged in solving
problems.

■Sena Muroi(Soma high school)■Yuka Minato(Iwaki high school)

Special feature report 2

Learnings from developmentally-advanced

regions for the future of regional development
・・・

As over eight years have passed since the March 11 disaster, visible scars and damage
in Hamadori have gradually decreased. However, many problems, such as an aging
population, regeneration of industry, and shortages of medical and welfare services, havebeen piling up. It is therefore somewhat diﬃcult for residents to map out their future.
Using their experiences in the UK and Rokkasho village, how can the students dig
into the reality of issues concerning Fukushima? What kind of future do theyenvisage for regional development?

■ Takanobu Horii(Yumoto high school)

I was interested in the education system in the UK. For
example, Sellafield collaborates with the local nuclear
11

college and has an educational program which enables its
staff to learn decommissioning
skills. This program is linked
to opportunities for academic
doctorates and workplace promotions. It would be great if
we could have a similar educational system in Fukushima.

■Souta Hanai(Haramachi high school)

I heard a story of a Sellafield worker who experienced
major plant trouble directlyfrom the person themselves.

A professor at the nuclear
college told us that “It is better to educate and develop
staff internally, rather thanhire capable people from outside at a high cost. They will
be more loyal to their workplace and have a deeper connection to the region.”■Yui Ito(Iwaki high school)

A college specializing in
nuclear power and radiationis needed in Fukushima. In
Japan, the number of people aiming to work in the
nuclear industry has been
decreasing since 2011. The
number of students enrolled
in nuclear-related courses incolleges and universities is

I agree with the idea of having a college here in Fukushima and recommend having
it in Futaba-gun, as there aremany opportunities and facilities to learn about the nuclear
accident and the ongoing decommissioning process, with
the nuclear power stationsof Fukushima Daiichi and
Fukushima Daini.

■Maho Kudo

(Iwaki Sakuragaoka high school)

There are a lot of peoplein Futaba-gun tackling problems caused by the nuclear

We have been talking about
academic level education andresearch opportunities so far.
In addition to this, a facility
where children in primaryschools can have access to
educational materials andresearch would be useful. The
reason for my participationin this project was the lack ofopportunities to learn about
the nuclear field, even though
I was living in Hamadori.

■Toshiyasu Shioya(Asaka high school)

Keeping in mind what wehave discussed today, we
should take action so that wecan present the features ofour region as strengths.
Although the idea of decommissioning may sound negative, we should show people
the bright future attainablethrough it, and turn this into
an attractive feature of our
town.

■Souta Hanai

The population of Hamadori has decreased since thedisaster. One of the ideas to12

Special feature report 2: Learnings from developmentally-advanced regions for the future of regional development

bring people back is to expand the amount of stable job
opportunities.
The decommissioning work
will provide stable jobs forat least 40 years. If we cancreate more job opportunities
this will generate more tax income, which will enable us toprovide better social welfare
services.

―It will take Sellafield 100 years to complete its
decommissioning project. This might be seen as aburden on the local community, but some people
told us that it is an opportunity to provide stable jobs
for 100 years, with the possibility of industrial developments originating from the work.
■ Maho Kudo

Decommissioning does nothave a good image, but there
are many people working withpride at the Sellafield site.
Seeing such people at work
may make the local people
feel more at ease.

■ Toshiyasu Shioya

A prerequisite for a town
to be considered good is thatit has good job opportunities. The local area aroundthe Sellafield site has various
employment opportunities in
addition to jobs in the nuclear
industry.

13

nuclear industry, I would prefer a work place with genderfairness and flexibility in accordance with one’s stage oflife. Women who are pregnant
or have recently given birthsometimes have to go home,
for instance, if their baby develops a sudden fever. Diversified workplaces adapt to suchcases as necessary. Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear power station
may be able to attract people
by showing that it offers sucha workplace.

■ Toshiyasu Shioya

ing to the revitalization of thearea, are necessary.

■ Yuka TadanoCompared with the positive
images of local residents regarding the research facilities
in Rokkasho village, feelings
about the decommissioning
work in Fukushima are muchless positive. This gap between local communities andFukushima Daiichi should be
bridged by demonstrating thepositive aspects of decommissioning.

■ Toshiyasu Shioya

50% of nuclear college
students are women while
only 10% of the workforce at
Fukushima Daiichi is female.
I feel something should bedone about this situation.
Decommissioning work has
an image of being a man’s job
but the details of the work are
not widely understood. Those
involved should make aneffort to show how interesting
the work is and aim to attract
more women to the industry.

Decommissioning creates
new cutting edge technologies
and industries related to them.
I was impressed by a training
facility for drone operations
and tests at the Sellafield site.
Rokkasho village also has
research facilities to develop
technologies in the medical
and other industries that originally came from the nuclear
industry. Technologies for robotics are being developed forthe decommissioning work at
the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
power station. Such technologies could lead to innovationsin the wider robotics industry,
which might create good job
opportunities.

■ Yui Ito

■ Yui Ito

They have so-called “sitestakeholder meetings” in theUK, where representatives
from the decommissioning
industry and local residents
discuss topics concerning
decommissioning work. If we
could have a similar meeting
here and involve high school
students, it would be a goodeducational opportunity forthe younger generation.

■ Yuka Minato

I heard that, at Fukushima
Daini during the earthquake,a female member ofstaff took on an important job involving
care for others – one
which men would
not have thought
to consider – eventhough it separated
her from her family
for many days. If I
were to work in the

The decommissioning workat Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
power station requires robotics. To develop the necessary
technologies, a supportive
environment which provides
a place for robot tests andservices to streamline the research and development work
would be useful.
Regional conditions whichembrace new technologies
and decommissioning, lead-

Creating opportunities tocommunicate with each otheris one idea. As there will likely
be both negative and positive
people, we need to consider
how we can coordinate mixed
opinions.

■ Hiroto Enei

(Odaka industrial technology andcommerce high school)―In what areas do you feel that there is distance between yourself and decommissioning or decontamination work?
■ Hiroto Enei

My grandfather is a district official and is struggling
to share information on radioactive waste. It seems tobe quite difficult to share
information with all the local
people.

■ Takanobu Horii

We cannot predict whena disaster will happen, justlike with the Great East
Japan Earthquake or theflood damage here due toTyphoon Hagibis this autumn. However, we might
have been able to predictthe possible damage due tothe typhoon and lessenedsome of its effects if we had
utilized hazard maps well.
Therefore, residents should
be notified of information on
decommissioning work in acomprehensive and detailedway.

■ Yui ItoI think the decommissioning has to have a positive
brand image. When you talkabout Fukushima, many people may think of a good image of peaches and Japanesesake. But some other prefectures also have this. On theother hand, Fukushima is
the only prefecture in which
there is decommissioning
work on severely damaged
reactors due to a nuclear
accident. I want the work tohave a good brand image tobe carried forward by thenext generation, rather thanbe stuck with a negative image.

■ Toshiyasu Shioya

In that respect, it is important to share positive
thoughts in the region.
Through opportunities like
today or other educational
opportunities, people canfeel a connection with eachother. As a first step, weshould aim to become leaders who proactively disseminate useful ideas and encourage local people to act
with us.

14

Special feature report 3: Sellafield: thoughts from British high school students

Presentation

your face in an as physicallystrange way as you can.

Special feature report 2

Cumbria also has a strong
connection with the nuclear
industry, through Sellafield.
It is quite a large part of ourcommunity.

Presentation on Sellaﬁeld

by British high school students
・・・

The “Hamadori, Fukushima HIGH SCHOOL ACADEMY 2019” mission visited West
Lakes Academy (WLA), a local high school near the Sellaﬁeld site, where the students
deepened their exchanges with each other.
The WLA students then visited Japan for the projectʼs brieﬁng conference andparticipated in various activities, including site tours at Fukushima Daiichi and Fukushima
Daini nuclear power stations and the interim waste storage facility. Their presentation on
Sellaﬁeld and its surrounding area, and their messages to Fukushima, are given below.

Hello. We are students
from West Lakes Academy.
Thank you very much for inviting us to such a wonderfulcountry. We appreciate theopportunity given to us today to make a presentationin front of you.
So, we’d like to start ourpresentation by telling youa bit about where we arefrom. What do you think ofwhen you think of Britain?
For most people, stereo15

types such as a cup of tea,
the Queen, and London landmarks come to mind.
Although we do have allthese things, it is important toknow that Britain is so much
more than just London. So,
we are here to tell you about
Cumbria, which is the county
we come from. We hope you
can learn a bit more about
its culture, history and traditions, as well as the impactof the nuclear industry andthe nature of its presence inour community. For reference, Cumbria, the county
we are from, is located in thenorthwest of England, and wecome from a district called
Copeland, which is on thewest coast. The Lake District
is a national park. It is entirely located in Cumbria and itis the largest national park in
England. We have the largest
mountain in England as well.
It is over 900 m. In 2017, theLake District was recognized

as a World Heritage Site.
Cumbria has a lot of culture and traditions. We havea famous author, Beatrix Potter. She wrote “Peter Rabbit”,
which is quite a popular children’s book. We also havea famous poet, Sir William
Wordsworth.
We have some weird foods.
We have Kendal Mint Cake,
which was taken on the first
expedition to Everest andacross the Arctic. It actuallybecame the first energy bar,and provides good energy for
mountaineers.
Each local area has its own
festival. Our festival hosts
the “The World Gurning
Championships”, where you
wear a horse collar and holdOn the 10th of October
1957, a fire broke out at theWindscale nuclear reactor in
Sellafield. It was an air-cooledgraphite reactor.
A staff member noticed
smoke from the chimney andthe spread of the fire. Several
measures were taken to control the temperature, such as
filling the reactor with carbon
dioxide and water, and shutting down the air to extinguish
the fire.

West Cumbria was in thesame situation as Fukushima
60 years ago. People at thattime could not buy lamb or
chicken meat and had to dispose of farm milk due to thecontamination.
Following the accident,
Calder Hall became the firstnuclear power plant to connect to the national grid provider. Production of electricity
was supposed to last for 20
years, but instead it lasted 47
years.
The site also became a research site for decommissioning, reprocessing of nuclear
fuel and so on. The site now
has the present name “Sellafield” and it employs 10,000
people, out of which 9,000
are from local areas.
16Special feature report 3: Sellafield: thoughts from British high school students

cation. For example, “Elevated Horizons” provides skills
training for young people inorder to reduce their dependence on Sellafield.

It is said that the rest of thedecommissioning process willtake more than 100 years. Difficult work lies ahead as radioactive materials still remain in
the pools.
Earlier this year, people saw
progress as the Windscalechimney began to be removed
piece by piece. The current
issue is that workers need todevelop their skills to be able
to contribute in more diverse
climates. There are concerns
that, as decommissioning
work approaches completionin the future, the amount ofrelated jobs will decrease.
To provide jobs after themain work is done, the nuclear industry is working on edu-

17

In this project we performed
an experiment in which welaunched a balloon high into
the atmosphere. Although
it was a very difficult experiment, we really enjoyed it.
Sellafield Ltd is one of thesponsors of our school andhas a big influence on regionsin Cumbria. It has been providing support for the development of local communities.
With its huge supply chains,
Sellafield continuously supports efforts like ours. The key
to this project was “Resilience”– the ability to surmount any
major problems that arose.
Eventually, we were able toovercome such problems
through teamwork.

of the balloon launch, despite
windy conditions which could
have broken the balloon, wemanaged to launch it successfully. We were able to retrievea camera that was attachedto the balloon from an area
40km north of the launch
point.
We had many failures anddifficulties. When we heardthat people in Fukushima had
overcome hardships due toan accident and failures thatthey could not avoid by bringing together people who havediverse skills, we felt it similar
to the process of our project.
We conducted the project lastApril, but if the Japanese highschool students could havejoined us at that time, wewould have been able to do it
more smoothly and quickly.

ble for the future of their communities.

Because most of us havenever been to Japan before,
we only had images of Japan
from news media. We thought
the weather here would resemble the cold weather in
Cumbria, but we were surprised by the difference in theJapanese weather, which is a
mixture of very hot days andrainy days.

The importance of such ties
cannot easily be describedwith mere words. We believethat the wonderful people
here in this conference room
will create a bright future.

We had an unusual experience too. We experienced
the typhoon that was passing
through here. It is heartbreaking to hear of the major damage to the region.
We felt that Tokyo was
not as crowded as we hadthought. One thing thatmatched our preconceptions,however, was that everythingin Japan was well organized,
and done in an efficient manner. We were especially sur-prised by the punctual departure of trains.
We would like to express
our sincere appreciation to
all those who have worked toenable us to have a safe andenjoyable stay. We cannot
overstate our gratitude for thisweek’s unbelievable and exceptional experience.

Each one of us here today
has the ability to achieve greatthings. We hope our ties will
last long into the future, andthat this future will be full ofhope. Thank you very muchagain for this life-changing
experience.

This exchange program was far morethan a normal trip.
Through it, we havebuilt deep ties with
the next generation,
who will be responsi-

We had nine project members. By utilizing and combining each member’s skills,
we tried to find solutions tosolve problems. On the day18

Field report 1: Study trip ~ The United Kingdom

Kako Sasaki

Natsuho Maekawa

Fuyu Suzuki Yuka Minato(Iwaki Sakuragaoka high school, year 2)●Field report

The British Museum

We explored London and learnt of its
culture and history. We were proud of
the popularity of Japanese manga there.

The Greek temple exterior is very eye-catching. When we visited, a large banner depicting the manga “Golden Kamuy”, with its main character and heroine,
Asirpa, was displayed at the entrance. In 2016, this manga was awarded the
grand prize as the most popular in Japan. One of the largest special exhibitionsof Japanese manga and animation was being held at the British Museum, andwe realized their popularity and the high regard they are held in. A lot of manga
and animations focusing on Hamadori, including Futaba-gun, have been createdsince the earthquake disaster and the nuclear accident. How about acceleratingsuch endeavors to attract inbound tourists?

(Iwaki high school, year 2)

1

Study trip

The United
Kingdom“Seeing is believing” is a phrase thathas been handed down for generations.
We were assured of its implications thissummer. Our generation is expected to
grow to bear the responsibility for revitalization, with decommissioning workat Fukushima Daiichi and Fukushima
Daini nuclear power stations set to continue for more than 30 years. We would
like to uncover some clues that will help
us engage with this future. This is why
we journeyed to visit the UK, where
decommissioning efforts have been inprogress since before such a need arose
in Japan.
After our return to Japan, we visited
Fukushima Daini nuclear power station
and Rokkasho village, which plays animportant role in the nuclear fuel cycle.
We directly experienced the situationon the ground and interacted with thepeople involved.
The experience overturned ourprevious assumptions and broadened
our perspective. We would like to sharewhat we have learnt with as many people of our generation as possible.
Here are the places we visited!

Sellafield

University College London (UCL)

The London Dungeon

One of the top universities in the world. Professor
Shinichi Onuma, originally from Fukushima, gave
us a lecture on the history of UCL. Patriots of thelate Tokugawa period, who contributed to themodernization of Japan, studied at this university. We
resolved firmly to improve our English abilities uponhearing the words of Professor Ohnuma: “You cannot
be connected to the world unless you speak English”.

An attraction showcasing historic incidents in London, such as
the Great Fire of London, the spread of the Black Death, Jack the
Ripper and so on. The actors and actresses portraying people
related to such incidents put on excellent performances. Although
we had some difficulties understanding the language, we enjoyedour visit and were able to deepen our knowledge of the history of
London thanks to their realistic performances. In Fukushima too,presenting information with some flavor of entertainment may
attract the interest of people in younger generations, and help toprevent the spreading of harmful rumors and the fading of memories
regarding the earthquake and nuclear accident.

〜 Decommissioning stretching over 100 years 〜
A must-visit when thinking about decommissioning at Fukushima
Daiichi and Fukushima Daini nuclear power stations. It is the frontier ofthe British nuclear energy industry, with more than 200 nuclear facilities on a huge site with an area about 130 times’ that of Tokyo Dome.
In the 1940s, the Windscale nuclear plant started operation to produce
plutonium for nuclear weapons. It suffered a fire accident in 1957 andcaused serious radioactive contamination in the surrounding area,
calling into question its safety. The world’s first commercial nuclear
power plant, “Calder Hall”, and other facilities at the site graduallyfinished operations due to declining profitability and the aging of facilities. Decommissioning work began and is expected to last until 2120.
The decommissioning projects are led by the government pouring in almost 300 billion yen, which could be controversial if it were in Japan, but there is almost no public opposition. More than 60 years have passed since the fire accident,
and the culture and character of British people differ from those of the Japanese, but one of the big reasons for the public’s acceptance may be that stable local employment will last for 100 years. Decommissioning in Fukushima should beestablished as a main pillar of regional revitalization as well.

National College for Nuclear

Beacon museum〜 Human resource development
closely associated with thedecommissioning site 〜〜 Exhibition of Regional History
and Decommissioning 〜

Visits to notable places● Lake District【Abbey Road】

Many places to go: London

The world’s most famous zebra
crossing, which appears on the
Beatles album cover.

London ●A national school for higher education, specializing
in nuclear energy and decommissioning. It was established a few years ago. Many teachers dispatched from
Sellafield are passing on their skills obtained from theirexperience at the site. Most of the graduates from thecollege join Sellafield and the nuclear industry. Such a
professional education and training system is necessary
for the decommissioning in Fukushima also.

A museum adjacent to Sellafield. There are plenty ofexhibitions with digital technologies and interactive features. It is easy to learn about the history of, and accident
at, Sellafield, as well as the decommissioning process.
The museum provides a deeper insight into the historyof the region, including its relationship with the nuclear
industry and decommissioning.

Scenery, outskirts of Sellafield〜 Looking for clues on the coexistence of decommissioning and the region 〜
Sellafield is located in the immediate vicinity of the Lake District, famous as thelocation for “The Tale of Peter Rabbit”. We enjoyed sprawling, idyllic views dottedwith sheep from the bus window. We could not imagine such a view in Fukushima
for now. We would love people to visit the area and meet the local people to see
how well decommissioning and communities can coexist.

The home stadium of the Englandnational football team. The largest
stadium in the UK.

【Buckingham Palace】

The official residence of the British royal family. The changing of
the Queen’s Guard at the palace
is a must-see traditional event.

【Wembley Stadium】【King’s Cross station】

The tall clock tower overwhelmed us. It iscurrently undergoing repair work.

Harry Potter’s journey to the wizardry school was initiated fromthis station.

Realization of the wonderfulness ofJapanese foods abroad
The typical British food “Fish & Chips” is a dish of deep fried white fish
such as cod, served with fried potatoes. We had this many times during ourstay. The dish has a long history. It was born and became popular during theIndustrial Revolution in the 18th century as a cheap working class food thatprovided plenty of energy. We also enjoyed steak and other foods and foundthat most were relatively simple. The idea among British gentlemen of thepast - that “dainty foods are ugly; modesty is a virtue” - may still exist now.
Of course, all the food tasted good, but I realized how great Japanesefood is. Compared with British food, Japanese food has better nutritionalbalance and is visually more appealing. I’d like to work in a food-related job
in the future and introduce the world to the wonderful produce from the richhills and seas of Fukushima. Thanks to this project in the UK, I was able toreconfirm and strengthen my determination to do so.

Yuka Minato

19【Big Ben】

Already 7 pm, but still plenty of sunshine.
The inspiring beauty of streets lined withbrick buildings under the setting sun.

20

Field report 2: Study trip 〜 Fukushima & Aomori

A trip to identify problems and●Field report

2

Fukushima& Aomori

TEPCO Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Station〜 What should be done? Problems in the decommissioning process 〜
F u k u sh i ma Da i n i nucle a r power
station was officially earmarked fordecommissioning in July 2019. It issituated on land encompassing Tomioka town and Naraha town, 12 km
south of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
power station – the site of the nuclear
accident which led to a meltdown ofnuclear fuel. Its four reactors started
operations between 1982 and 1987.
Due to the tsunami created by theGreat East Japan Earthquake, cooling functions were temporarily lost at Units 1, 2 and 4. Fortunately, these were later restored, enabling the site to avoid a severe accident such as a meltdown.
We actually visited the site and went into one of the reactor buildings, stepped into a space rightunder the reactor vessel and had a look at the control room for nuclear fuel operations.
Surprisingly, it was a quiet place, when we had only known it as very busy from media footage. It seemed to be in a stable condition, but the decommissioning work will take more than 40
years to complete. There are many issues involved, such as the securing of human resources forthe long-term work and the creation of new industries as alternatives to nuclear power work.

explore the future of Japanese energy
Fukushima Daini nuclear power station has 10,000 spent nuclear fuel rods.
Local residents are anxious about thehighly radioactive fuel stored on thepremises of Fukushima Daini nuclear
power station, and Fukushima prefecture and local municipalities have requested the removal of this fuel out of
Fukushima.
TEPCO promised to respect their request, but the spent fuel storage area inJapan Nuclear Fuel Limited’s (JNFL)
reprocessing facility is almost full.
Currently, there is nowhere forthe fuel to be taken.

● Rokkasho

JNFL reprocessing facility〜 How to achieve commitments 〜
The nuclear facilities are situated in
Rokkasho village, in the southern partof the Shimokita peninsula. Here, spent
fuel from nuclear power plants nationwide is supposed to be stored and reprocessed into new nuclear fuel as partof the “nuclear fuel cycle”.
We visited the reprocessing factory,
one of the important facilities in the
nuclear fuel cycle, and the visitor center. We learnt the background to why
the nuclear fuel cycle is so important inJapan, which is a country with little in

the way of natural resources.
Unfortunately, the reprocessing factory construction work has faced technical problems, and the completion date has been repeatedly postponed. As a result, it is still
not in operation.
What will happen to the spent nuclear fuel from Fukushima Daiichi and Daini nuclear power stations? What is theraison d'être for the nuclear fuelcycle?
This visit to JNFL must give us
pause for thought on the futureof nuclear power.

TEPCO decommissioning archive center〜 Exhibitions replete with the latest technologies 〜
An information center for Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear power station opened in
November 2018. It has a huge screen toshow images of the actual situation andon-going work at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. Projection mapping technology is used to present detailed information on contaminated water management
and so on.
Thanks to such efforts to attract visitors,
we were able to learn in detail why the accident happened and how the decommissioning work is being implemented.

National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology〜 For the safety and peace of mind of local residents 〜Here, research was taking place on
the environmental effects of radioactive
materials from reprocessing facilities in
the region. A staff member explained to
us experimental research on mice which
had been exposed with low level radiation, where the results showed no significant effects on the mice.
Research that attempts to assure local
residents of their safety was being conducted there.

Futaba ●Interim Storage Facility for Removed Soil and Waste〜 A view of our lost home town 〜
Contaminated soil removed from various regions in Fukushima prefecture will
be stored at these facilities for 30 years.
Expansion work for the storage facilities
is going on in a huge area across Okuma
town and Futaba town, where Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear power station is also located. Large amounts of soil from the temporary storage areas of many municipalities
are transported to the facilities one after
another.
The national government promised thatthe radioactive waste stored here will be removed outside of Fukushima prefecture for final
disposal by the year 2045. But the place for this final disposal has not been decided yet. This
area used to feature beautiful green land and fields where people enjoyed peaceful lives andchildren played cheerfully. The national government needs to keep its promise.

21

Rokkasho village Nuclear Fusion Research Center〜 A small sun on the earth 〜
The goal of this facility is the achievementof “nuclear fusion generation” - a technologythat has the possibility to solve global energy
problems. Harnessing the same phenomenon that occurs in the sun will make it possible to extract a large amount of energy froma small amount of fuel. That is why nuclear
fusion is called “A small sun on the earth”.
We have a negative image of the word “nuclear” because we experienced the nuclear
accident, but the research taking place here
may realize a dream of humankind.

22

Fostering future generations to complete the decommissioning

Fostering future generations to complete the decommissioning
Our home towns have to face an “exceptional situation”: the simultaneous de- commissioning of a total of ten nuclear reactors at Fukushima Daiichi andDaini nuclear power stations.
The challenges in this unprecedented, difficult work will continue for more than 30 years. That is why human resource development is so important. Mr. Ukyo
Momma and Ms. Yuka Tadano, both from Soma high school, discussed methods of human resource development based on their learnings from the UK.
izes in nuclear technology for humanresource development.

to Fukushima and, with an increasing
population, our towns would develop
organically.

Ukyo Momma

Ukyo Momma(Soma high school)

Do we need more colleges in Fukushima?
Yuka Tadano

It will take more than 30 years
to complete the decommissioning
work at the nuclear power stations inFukushima.

Ukyo Momma

JNFL in Rokkasho village, Aomori
prefecture can store radioactive waste
for 100 years. The number of employees there is 2,800, which is quite
large. The work seems to require along period of time and a considerable
amount of human resources.

Yuka Tadano

People with highly specialized

knowledge and skills are vital at
decommissioning sites. Taking thissituation into account, we should havea college in Fukushima that special-

Sellafield’s decommissioning process will takemore than 100 years

23

I certainly agree with the idea of
having a college, but I just wonder if
we need it in Fukushima. Even if we
had the college here, nobody would
come unless they had an interest in
nuclear technologies. Therefore, weshould make changes in compulsory
education concerning nuclear technologies in Fukushima.

Ukyo Momma

I agree. Initially, I thought that weshould make changes to the compulsory education in Fukushima first. But,
after our discussion, I think we should
do it on the national level to secure
human resources from all parts of thecountry.

Yuka Tadano

Learnings during childhood are priceless
Yuka Tadano

I visited a local high school in the
UK, West Lakes Academy, near theLake District. Probably because of its
proximity to the Sellafield site, students there had been learning about
nuclear and radiation matters sincechildhood. When we attempted somequizzes on radiation at WLA, thestudents from Fukushima were struggling to answer them while the WLA
students did so quite easily.
They seemed to have detailed
knowledge on radiation thanks to thelong-term education since their childhood.

Ukyo Momma

Not only that, things experienced
during childhood can broaden our
horizons and cause us to become moreinterested in them later. As I was raisedin an environment with cattle on a dairy
farm owned by my father, I like animals
and would like to be a veterinarian in
the future. My childhood experiences
still remain in my mind and actuallyaffect my decision making for the future.
So, more people might be interested innuclear colleges and jobs in the nuclear industry if they had the opportunity
to learn about nuclear-related subjects
during their childhood.

Yuka Tadano

Considering societal issues likepopulation decline, the low birth rate
and an aging population, local young
people will leave the region to attend
colleges outside of Fukushima unless
we have a place to learn about nuclear issues and technologies. As aresult, graduates of those colleges inother prefectures may take jobs there.
So, even if the number of people
entering the nuclear industry increases nationwide this may not solve theproblem of a lack of human resourcesin Fukushima.

Collaboration between
colleges and companies

Ukyo Momma

At the nuclear college in the UK,
students are able to secure jobs at the
Sellafield site after their graduation. This
scheme has brought great benefits toboth sides. Many people are attracted by
the proposition of a stable job in the future and so want to enroll in the school,
and the company can gain access tomany skilled people willing to join it.

Therefore, I recommend that TEPCO
engage in collaboration with colleges inother prefectures so that students with
nuclear expertise can come to Fukushima. That way, we can attempt to solve
the issue of human resource shortages.

Town planning witheducation at its core
Yuka TadanoThat is a good idea, but we needmore. Fukushima has to be an attractive
place to live. I believe that even if there
are stable jobs provided by collaborating companies, not many people would
come to the region.
First of all, town planning is a crucial
aspect in attracting people. We shouldhave a nuclear college that is an integrated part of radiation education andtown development. Although nuclear
power stations and radiation are often negatively regarded as frightening
things, they actually have many merits.
Nuclear-related jobs are stable and canmake a positive contribution to the
future. If we had such a college in thisregion, more people would be drawn

A professor at the nuclear college
in the UK told us that “It is better toeducate and develop staff internally, rather than hire capable people
from outside at a high cost. They
will be more loyal to their workplaceand have a deeper connection to theregion.” These words makes me thinkthat we should foster human resources
locally by having a college in Fukushima.

Ukyo Momma

If we are to have a college, theregion will require infrastructure
improvements. With improved infrastructure, we may be able to create
towns that are pleasurable to live in.

Yuka Tadano

Certainly, a new college will contribute to better town development.

Yuka Tadano(Soma high school)

Future education
Ukyo Momma

Through this project, I gained the
feeling that Japanese nuclear andradiation-related education was lagging
behind compared with that in the UK.
Therefore, we should change our outdated education environment.

Yuka Tadano

By making changes to Japanese education, we may create more opportunities to learn about nuclear issues andmore people may become interested in
the nuclear industry.

Ukyo Momma

Once many people have a deeper
understanding of nuclear matters, morepositive ideas than negative ones will be
generated.

Yuka Tadano

To make Fukushima a more attractive
place to live and work, those in younger
generations like us have to takeaction.

WLA has advanced educational programson radiation

24

Preventing the fading of memories

Preventing the fading of memories

Preventing the fading of memories❶ Preparation for❷ We will pass on

unknown disasters

what we havelearntSouta Hanai, Haramachi high schoolThe fading of memories is not just a problem for other people. My own memoriesof the Great East Japan Earthquake arevague and many things have disappeared
from my mind. Everyone can suffer from the fading of memories. As a person who experienced theearthquake disaster, I think that we should preserve
heritage from that time as a link to the past in orderto remind people of the events that took place andprevent the fading of memories. For instance, there
are many houses and facilities, like Futaba-Minami
primary school, which provide a visual reminder of
the actual situation at the time. But these properties
have to be demolished in the process of reconstruction work by local municipalities. And not all local
residents necessarily want to remember the past.
How about recording scenes of towns and buildings with Virtual Reality (VR) technology? VR technology would allow us to store images for the longterm, and can allow people who were not present
during the earthquake disaster to experience it in avery vivid and realistic manner.
In addition, some parts of the reactors, the equipment and the vast land subject to decommissioning work at the nuclear power station should bepreserved and utilized for an archive center or forcollege educational materials. These preserved facilities and materials would serve both to preserve thememory of the disaster, and provide educational opportunities for nuclear-related technology and skills
development. They may also help to prevent the
propagation of harmful rumors.
Currently, facilities that aim to pass on memoriesof the earthquake disaster and nuclear accident,
and disseminate information at home and abroad

25

Takanobu Horii, Yumoto high school
are being built at the “Memorial and Revitalization
Zone” in Futaba town, Hamadori. The main facilities
will include an archive center, where information
on records and learnings from the earthquake andnuclear accident, and educational opportunities forpeople from Japan and overseas, will be available.
In addition, a memorial park for the deceased andan industrial exchange center for social services andconferences will be built, which will also demonstrate people’s strong determination to revitalize theregion. Memories of the events will be passed on topeople from all over the world, which will hopefully
help to prevent harmful rumors. But there are alsoplans to build another archive center in Tomioka
town. I think that having too many similar facilities
in Hamadori will diminish their significance. Local
municipalities should collaborate with each other todevelop facilities in the same area with a common
goal.
In terms of the zone I’ve just mentioned, the key
issue will be how to attract the maximum number ofvisitors. Regular events like lectures on disaster experiences or technical seminars for businesses are necessary. And, just like the visitor center in Rokkasho
village, combining accommodation facilities witheducational functions in the same area will enable
the zone to cater to off-campus courses for schools
and training conferences for businesses, which will
generate more opportunities to attract many people.
I think that creating opportunities to invite a large
number of people to the Memorial and Revitalization
Zone is very important.
By maintaining links to the disaster and sharing
useful learnings from people’s experiences of it, rather than leaving them as mere past incidents, we will
be able to prevent the fading of memories.

Those in younger generations like us
have to play a key role in preventing
the fading of memories and the spreading of harmful rumors. We participated in the project “Hamadori, HIGH SCHOOLACADEMY 2019” and visited nuclear facilities
undergoing decommissioning in the UK. Later, we also visited Futaba town, which has azone where evacuation orders and restrictions
are still in place, the Interim Storage Facility,
Fukushima Daini nuclear power station and other nuclear and disaster-related areas in Fukushima. Through those visits, we learnt many things
about radiation and nuclear issues. When wevisited TEPCO’s decommissioning archive center, we were able to gain direct information fromthe exhibitions on the process of the accident,
countermeasures taken to mitigate malfunctions
at the plants and the workers’ protective gear at
the time.
At Fukushima Daini nuclear power station, I
learnt that radiation levels inside and outsideof the reactor buildings were much lower thanI thought. I also found out that Sellafield in the
UK has strong ties with local communities andcreates jobs which are welcomed by local people. Furthermore, it is collaborating with a local
college and a local high school (WLA).
In this way, I found information and facts
which I would not have been able to obtain without actually going to these places. I was able tolearn the real situation in areas affected by thedisaster. Projects like this are good opportunities
for us to visit and learn from facilities at home

and abroad, and they may prevent the fading of
memories and the spreading of harmful rumors.
On the other hand, this kind of project requires
a lot of money, which means it is impossible toimplement a similar one on a large scale.
The younger generation, including students,
should go out and learn. To do that, junior highschools and high schools should have in theireducational curricula initiatives such as on-sitetraining, school trips and off-campus learning.
There are some schools which run school trips
to the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome and facilities related to peace education. The areaaround the nuclear power stations in Fukushima
would also be suitable for school trips on disaster prevention, as the region suffered a major
natural disaster. Thus, I think that some of thestructures of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power
station, Futaba-Minami primary school and soon have to be preserved as they are, and that
we should develop the region proactively withfacilities that preserve an image of the actual situation in towns at the time of the disaster.
People of the younger generations hold the
key to the future of Fukushima. We have to havethe right knowledge, disseminate this to society
and pass it on to future generations so that wecan prevent harmful rumors and the fading of
memories.

26

A female Japanese leader in the UK

A female Japaneseleader in the UK

There are female leaders active in the UK. We met two famous women,
Hashimoto, vice president of Dojima Sake Brewery in the UK. We would
our meeting with Ms. Kiyomi Hashimoto, who kindly gave us a lecture.

Ms. Michiko Koshino, fashion designer, and Ms. Kiyomi
like to talk about our experience at the Dojima brewery andThis demonstrates the ability of Japanese sakebrewers to use sophisticated production techniques
to make high-quality products. Ensuring that people
across the world are aware of this will surely help
to increase the value of sake. When we first heard
about sake costing 150,000 yen a bottle we could not
believe it, but after visiting the Dojima brewery andseeing its operations, and understanding the rationale behind the pricing, we can now see why this is
the case.

The Dojima brewery was built on the site of a former aristocratic manor house, located in a vast field in the UK. A phrase
by Ms. Hashimoto that made a particular impression on us was“Weak points can be turned into strong points.”

DOJIMA SAKE BREWERY■ Dojima Sake Brewery started brewing Japanese sake in
Cambridge, UK in October 2018
■ The premises measure 330,000 square meters andwere formerly an aristocratic manor house. They containfruit gardens, a pigeon house and other notable features.
A shrine to the god of sake and a Japanese garden are
currently under construction.
■ The first Japanese company to start a sakebrewery business in the UK.

Ms. Hashimoto told us that “The Japanese are quite modest
and not good at self-expression.” In general, this is regarded asa weak point in the international community. But she said that
“This characteristic of Japanese people can be a strong point.”
In many cases, people in other countries tend to be assertive,
but sticking too much to one’s own opinion often exaggerates
the discussion. The Japanese are good at listening to the opinions of others objectively and taking them into account in theiractions. The word “compromise” may sound negative, but it isa vital skill in coordinating differing opinions.

Qualities required of a leader
One is the importance, and the difficulty, of“changing one’s way of thinking”. Negative things
may also be thought of as positive. Her lecture gave
us the confidence to go out and make our mark on
the world.

27■ Pride in a bottle

Two types of Japanese sake are brewed at the Dojima brewery. Both cost 150,000 yen a bottle. Thissounds very expensive for Japanese sake. Why are
they selling well?

Despite the impact of harmful rumors, exports ofJapanese sake made in Fukushima are increasing.
But domestically in Japan, consumption of sake isdeclining. Learning from Ms. Hashimoto, I wantbreweries in Fukushima to make continued efforts
so that Fukushima’s sake can acquire a good brandimage. That will help to dispel any harmful rumors.

One of the factors is the gentrification of sake.
According to Ms. Hashimoto, sake has an unfairly
low reputation for its value. So, she wanted to increase its perceived value by setting high prices,and eventually succeeded in doing so. She says thatworld-renowned restaurants sometimes refused totake sake simply because of its low price. Despite its
high value, attempts to sell sake to such places would
never clear the first hurdle, so her solution has been
to raise its value.

We learnt two things from Ms. Hashimoto’s lecture.

The second is the importance of the “continuous
dissemination of one’s own opinion”. Ms. Hashimoto
expended a great amount of effort in her attempts tosecure the land for the brewery. The land had a long
history and great value, so was difficult to purchase.
She held numerous meetings with local people togain consensus and finally achieved her goal. Just
like Ms. Hashimoto, we would like to express ourdesires, then make them a reality to create a brighter
future.

Kou Furuhashi, Shinchi high school
Hiroto Enei, Odaka industrial technology
and commerce high school

Learnings from our experiences
We also had the chance to hear from a British
brewer making Japanese sake every day at the Dojima brewery. We were impressed by the fact that
he was so proud of his profession. He referred to hissake as “my child”. This demonstrated his passion
for his job and his love of Japanese sake. Like him,
we will also work hard so that we can call our jobs
“my child”.

Secondly, she also makes efforts to inform abroad array of people about the high quality andvalue of sake. Sake has a taste that is equal to or
better than any product in any other country, andits brewing techniques are highly developed. At the
Dojima brewery, all the main ingredients - rice, malt
and yeast - are imported from Japan. Hard watertaken from an underground stratum created in theglacial period goes through a softening process, andcareful temperature-control management is applied
for the fermentation process.

28

The
spirit ofleadership
During the training
sessions for this project in
the UK and Japan, we hadmany opportunities tocommunicate and interact
with successful people on
the front lines of various
fields.
In order to tackle theunprecedented challenges
inherent in revitalizing
Fukushima, we, as the
younger generation, would
like to become leaders thatcan contribute to the futureof our home towns. We
would like to share what
we have learnt on “thespirit of leadership”.

◇ Calm perspective◇ Never rest on
your laurels◇Thoughtfulness

Mr. Masuda is the president of JNFL, andformer superintendent of Fukushima Daini
nuclear power station, where he managed thesituation immediately after the earthquake.
He stated to us that, in the case of an
emergency, the lack of a calm perspective canthreaten the lives of colleagues. He advised us
always to remain calm so that we can make thebest decisions.

I had a chance to meet the fashion
designer Ms. Michiko Koshino in
London. Though she is a leader in the
fashion industry, she also runs a sushi
restaurant to tell people of the excellenceof Japanese food.
I learnt that it was valuable to keep
attempting new things.
I want to work in the food industry in the
future. The ﬁght against harmful rumors
will go on, but I will continue to tellpeople of the appeal of foods from myhome town so that the world will start
accepting them again.

Selﬁshness is not a good trait. We haveto consider what is required by carefully
observing the surrounding situation with abroad perspective.
The road to revitalization will be fraught
with various problems, but I would like tolisten to the opinions of those around me,
and step forward and act.

Sena Muroi, Soma high school

Yuka Minato, Iwaki high school

Ambassador Tsuruoka◇ Do not hesitate toexpress your opinion
Ambassador Tsuruoka and Ms. Hashimoto told usthat “Japanese people are cooperative but quiet”.
Although having a cooperative personality is important,being too quiet will not beneﬁt society.
As the work involved in therevitalization of our region isunprecedented, a variety ofopinions from diverse industries,
including researchers, is required.
I too would like to express my
opinion without hesitation insociety.

Ms. Hashimoto, Dojima Brewery

29

Natsuho Maekawa,Iwaki Sakuragaoka high school

Toshiyasu Shioya,
Asaka high school◇ Ability to makepropositions andtake action
Successful Japanese people in the UK
all have an excellent ability to makepropositions and act on them.
The decommissioning work, Innovation
Coast Initiative and eﬀorts to dispel
harmful rumors are at the stage that we,as the younger generation, have to think
about them as our responsibility. We musttake on board a variety of opinions andproactively seek solutions.

Mr. Masuda, the former superintendent ofFukushima Daini nuclear power station

Kou Furuhashi, Shinchi high school
Ms. Michiko Koshino, world-famous fashion designer

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Cover story 1: Positive branding of decommissioning as a regional advantage● Cover story 1

er educational opportunities
during childhood.

Yui Ito, Iwaki high school

Positive branding of decommissioning
as a regional advantage
Why I participated
I would like to be a medical
doctor for the regional medical
service in Fukushima in the
future. I have many classmates
who want to live in convenientmetropolitan cities, rather thanin Fukushima. That made me
think about how we should develop our towns to make themattractive to young people. I
thought that I should start bylearning from developmentally-advanced regions whichhave similar problems. That
is why I decided to participate
in this project, “Hamadori,
Fukushima HIGH SCHOOLACADEMY 2019”.

Differences between
Japan and the UK
We visited the UK and learntof the past fire accident at theWindscale nuclear plant andsubsequent decommissioningof the facilities. During mystay, I noticed some differencesin perception between Japanand the UK.
The first one is the differing
attitudes to radiation between
the two countries. For many
Japanese people, their impression of the word “radiation” isalong the lines of “dangerous”
31

or “frightening”, but it was not
perceived as particularly dangerous by the British people I
spoke to. I then realized thedifferences in perception between the two nations.

Japan’s nuclear sector werefemale, while the UK had 70%
female researchers in its radiation sector. It is exciting tohear that so many women are
active in this field in the UK.

The differences in the perception of nuclear decommissioning are large too. In Japan,
decommissioning is becoming
increasingly important since
the accident at Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear power station,and new nuclear-related businesses have emerged. As thisis an area of industry that did
not exist before the accident,
nobody knows much about it- even my mother, father andfriends, born and raised herein Fukushima. Furthermore, as
the industry deals with “radiation”, Japanese people do nothave a good impression of it ingeneral. In contrast, jobs related to decommissioning wereregarded as “cool” in the UK.
I was astonished by this difference between the two countries.

I also learnt about some actual
examples of radiation technologies utilized in the medical services field for medical
checks and treatments to easethe burden of patients.

There were more differences. According to the report,“Statistical topics No. 80: leading female scientists in Japan”(2014, Ministry of Internal
Affairs and Communications),
only 8.6% of researchers in

Regional developmentin Hamadori
Given what I had learnt, I
tried to think about the problems involved in the development of Hamadori.
Firstly, we need to change
people’s perceptions of thedecommissioning industry. In
general, Japanese people do
not care much about decommissioning, and do not have agood impression of it.
The reasons for this are alack of information on decommissioning and insufficientknowledge regarding radiation.
Therefore, if Japanese people
were to realize that the decommissioning industry is an
attractive one, we would be
able to get more young peopleinterested in it.

My proposals
I have read the website forthe “Fukushima Innovation
Coast Initiative” and I understand that it will bring together
cutting-edge research facilities
in an area close to our home. I
thought about ideas to improve
the image of Hamadori, wherethese developments are goingon.

What we need now is “positive branding of decommissioning”. The decommissioning
industry has to be properly
understood and establishedas part of Japanese industry.
There are many aged nuclear
power stations in Japan andoverseas. I believe that thedecommissioning industry thatis newly emerging in Japan
will gain a foothold and develop further. That will serve as a
trigger for the revitalization of
not only Fukushima, but Japan
itself.

Problems in the“positive branding ofdecommissioning”
There are two problems in
the process of creating a “positive branding of decommissioning”.

The first one is ap-

propriate information dissemination. A lot of information
is available on Fukushima

Daiichi and Daini either frommedia coverage or via the internet. But I have a feeling thatmuch of this is negative andincites anxiety. It is evident
that steady progress is being
made in the decommissioning
work after eight years involving trial and error since theaccident. To create a positive
branding of decommissioning,people in Fukushima and nationwide need to be informedof this encouraging situation.

The second one is thedispelling of harmful rumors.
I belong to a chemistry club at
my school. We deal with many
types of chemical agents in
our club activities, and we try
to learn the characteristics ofeach to avoid hazardous situations and ensure safety. To
create a “positive branding ofdecommissioning” it is similarly important to have proper
knowledge and understandingof radiation and radioactive
materials through the compulsory education system and oth-For example, Taisei Corporation has an advertisement
animation which is well known
in a wide range of age groups.
Since the “GAINAX” animation studio is in Fukushima,
I wonder if we could createsuch an advertisement locallyby collaborating with the studio. And how about making acatch phrase which could help
shake off the negative imageof decommissioning. For instance, using the English word
“decommissioning”, or an abbreviation rather than the Japanese word “hairo” written in
kanji. I hope decommissioning
becomes an aspirational job
which is favorably portrayed inTV dramas.
My ideas as a high school
student might not be goodenough and I do not have thecapability to plan and implement something by myself, but
I will keep learning and thinking until we have a Hamadorithat is full of life, with moreyoung people wishing to live
and work in their home towns.

32

Cover story 2: Regional consensus - the key to a long-term decommissioning process● Cover story 2

Toshiyasu Shioya, Asaka high school

Regional consensus - the key to along-term decommissioning process

Despite this, local people’s impressions ofdecommissioning in the UK were not as bad as
those in Japan.

Decommissioning is not aneasy challenge

Differences between the
UK and Japan

It will take 30 to 40 years to decommission
Fukushima Daiichi. On hearing this superficially,
it may sound like it’s a simple process that will
follow a concrete plan.

I have thought about the differences between
the UK and Japan to find some clues to help solve
the problems regarding decommissioning in Japan.

But decommissioning is not that easy. That iswhat I learnt from the project curriculum in the
UK and Japan.

Firstly, there is a difference in whether de-

Current problems
What kind of problems are there? Some clues
were available from TEPCO’s archive center.
One is the need to gain the understanding ofpeople in society regarding the decommissioning
process. Some people may feel opposed to thedecommissioning work if they do not know muchabout why it requires a lot of money and sophisticated technologies.
There are other problems related to spent nuclear fuel and the treatment of nuclear fuel debris.
Although these have to be stored somewhere, theplace for their final storage has not been decided.
The feelings and emotions of people in Fukushima
and Japan are directly related to these problems.
Consensus building with local people is becoming
increasingly important in order to proceed withthe decommissioning and the revitalization of
Fukushima.

33

As symbolized by one of the world’s oldest commercial reactors, the Calder Hall reactor, Sellafield
has a considerably long history. I initially thoughtthat people’s perceptions of nuclear power stations
and decommissioning might change over time, but
my assessment was incorrect. It seems that there is
still some negativity toward the site and the plans
for the final disposal of radioactive materials.

Amid the 100 year
decommissioning process
Let me talk about the decommissioning process
at the Sellafield site. Sellafield Ltd has a decommissioning plan which will take about 100 years tocomplete. The work is currently progressing steadily. The word “decommissioning” there covers
not only nuclear power plants but also the whole
premises of the Sellafield site.
According to its staff, Sellafield Ltd has been
making efforts over a long period to build up
a trusting relationship with local communities.
When they build new facilities, they explain thework in detail to local people to seek their understanding of its necessity. Through these efforts,
they have gained consensus from the local communities.

commissioning was anticipated or not. Decommissioning work at the Sellafield site was “anticipated” to some extent after years of plant operation.
Therefore, people were not greatly distrustful orsuspicious when the plans were announced. On
the other hand, decommissioning at Fukushima
began suddenly due to the earthquake in a manner that “nobody anticipated”. Sellafield has aconcrete definition of its decommissioning, but
Fukushima Daiichi does not. That is why many
Japanese feel that the decommissioning decision isvague and unclear.

ar power between the UK and Japan. As the underlying situation is different, the way to build up
consensus might also be different.
Pre-conceived ideas on decommissioning andnuclear power are difficult to change. But we haveto change them in order to proceed with decommissioning and revitalization. Thus, the need tobuild up a trusting relationship with local people in
Fukushima becomes inevitable.
We can expect developments in cutting edge
technologies both for decommissioning and forother industries, as the work requires high-leveltechnologies.
Sellafield Ltd has a training facility for the operation of robotics. Learning from this, Fukushima
might also be able to develop a robotics industry.
In addition, Fukushima prefecture is positioned
as a hub for the renewable energy industry in thenational energy plan.
Our strong hope for the development of our region will create a foundation to forge a new visionof the future.

Secondly, there is a differ-ence between the two nations interms of energy and generation
technology. In the UK, new nuclear power stations are being
planned and built, taking environmental issues and generation
costs into account. In Japan, however, the government reviewed its
national energy plan, resolving to
reduce the country’s dependence
on nuclear power generation.
That has led to a difference inpublic sentiment regarding nucle34

Key messages as a representative of Fukushima

Summary

The high school students introduced people to the cultureof Fukushima and Japan and deepened their exchanges
with British people at WLA and St. James’s Church.

Even those who have heard of Three Mile
Island or Chernobyl may not see the relevanceof the relation between Sellaﬁeld andHamadori. For many people, it may be the ﬁrst
time they have heard the name “Sellaﬁeld”.

and 2003, and is currently in the process of
being decommissioned. Beside it sits theWindscale nuclear power plant, which suﬀered
a ﬁre accident in 1957. This was one of theearliest severe accidents at a nuclear power
plant, evaluated as Level 5 on the International
Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES).
The site also houses the THORP facilities,
which reprocess a large amount of spent
nuclear fuel from Japan.

Sellaﬁeld can be seen as a microcosm of
universal problems concerning frictions
between the areas of energy and science &technology as dealt with by the nuclear
industry or industrial society, and society atlarge. Calder Hall nuclear power plant is one ofthe oldest commercial nuclear power plants inthe world. It was in operation between 1956

We can see the history of the relation
between humans and nuclear power, from its
dawn to the present situation. Sellaﬁeld
experienced frictions between it and society
concerning severe accidents or the treatment ofwaste earlier than did Japan. The high school
students visited the site, together with thereprocessing facilities at Rokkasho village inIn thinking about the future of Fukushima,
the value of learning from Sellaﬁeld cannot be
overstated. Furthermore, it is no exaggeration
to say that it is vital for the future of Japan.

Sellaﬁeldʼs “time-scale”

Hiroshi Kainuma, Associate Professor, The Kinugasa Research Institute, Ritsumeikan University
Aomori prefecture, Fukushima Daini nuclear
power station and the Interim Storage Facility.
They tried hard to deepen their knowledge andhone their thoughts.
There were many issues to study at Sellaﬁeld,
which diﬀered from those encountered by thehigh school students that visited Belarus theprevious year. The most important one is the“time-scale” at Sellaﬁeld. It has almost 50
yearsʼ experience of coexistence with nuclear
accidents and decommissioning. In addition,
there is a planned process that stretches over
100 years. How is the government going tosupport this and provide eﬀective andsustainable schemes so that the local people
and society can receive the education andlearning opportunities they need to grow? One
realizes the limits to the time-scales that35

people have thus far followed at Fukushima the basic premise of year-long projects, 5 to
10-year overall outlooks, or decommissioning
and contaminated soil removal over 30 to 40
years - and therein can be found some clues for
improving the current situation.
Through the Hamadori, Fukushima HIGHSCHOOL ACADEMY 2019 project, high school
students learnt a variety of things that they will
be able to utilize in their future lives. How will
they employ this knowledge in 30 or 40 yearsʼ
time, on a time-scale which many present
adults cannot hope to have? Their potential isunknown, but this report at least provides astarting point. I wish sincerely for the seeds
planted via their work to blossom magniﬁcently
in the future.

36

The future

Editor’s postscript

Looking to the futurewith the younger generation
Yumiko Nishimoto
President, NPO Happy Road Net

The 10th spring since theGreat East Japan Earthquake
and accident at Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear power station
will soon be upon us. As
decommissioning of the
Fukushima Daini nuclear
power station has beenoﬃcially announced,
decommissioning work
covering a total of ten
reactors, including those at
Fukushima Daiichi, will now
take place. Many issues lie
ahead for our home towns,
such as the securing andtraining of human resources
for the long-term
decommissioning process, thecreation of new industries asalternatives to the nuclear
industry and the mapping ofa future for our region
following completion of thethirty-year decommissioning
work.
Revitalization stretching
into the future will be a hugeburden for our children.
Despite this, high school
students must stand ready to
become future regional
leaders, claiming ownershipof the associated issues as
they consider how to shape
the future of their home
towns. With the aim ofnurturing the next generationof leaders, we began in 2017
to send high school students

to other countries whereeﬀorts were being made totackle the aftermaths ofnuclear accidents. The United
Kingdom was chosen as the
backdrop to our third project.
We visited “Sellaﬁeld”, a vast
complex with a series ofnuclear facilities that istackling a one hundred-year
decommissioning process, andhad the opportunity toobserve the local way of life
there. After returning toJapan, we visited Fukushima
Daini and the reprocessing
facilities at Rokkasho village in
Aomori prefecture, anddeepened our learning withthe key phrase“Decommissioning, Industry
and Region”.
The road to decommissioning
is long and arduous.
To overcome unknown
hardships, new ideas and a
new sense of values are vital.
Using the knowledge gained
from their experiences in the

UK and Japan, the highschool students made some
proposals such as thenecessity of a new college,
positive branding ofdecommissioning and so on.
They also expressed some
biting home truths about
projects such as theInnovation Coast Initiative,
which they described as
being “run by adults” such as
government oﬃcials. I am
certain that their sincere
eﬀorts to face the future of
our region will enable them
to forge a bright pathforward.

If you look around the world, the Japanese way of
thinking is not always adequate. Approaches torevitalization can diﬀer depending on the country.
Therein, we may discover information useful for the
future of our home towns and food for thought fromothersʼ mistakes.
High school student visitors to the UK realized that thedecommissioning work at the Sellaﬁeld site has created
new, cutting edge technologies and generated employment in the region. That gave them hope for the futureof Fukushima. On the other hand, they had mixed feelings about the fading of memories among the generalpublic regarding the past ﬁre accident at the site. The accident seemed to be regarded as part of history. Theirexperiences overturned conventional wisdom, broadened their perspectives and provided a boost for theirpersonal growth.
Most of this booklet was written by the high school student volunteers themselves, hoping to share theirexperiences in the UK and Japan with people of the same generation. They worked hard to construct a visionof the future by visiting decommissioning sites, speaking to those tackling the challenges there and attempting
to seek coexistence with local communities.
Some of you may have diﬀerent ideas or opinions after reading this booklet. That is a good thing.
Decommissioning in Fukushima is a journey into the unknown, and the fog of uncertainty may impede ourpath. But the younger generations, who will take on the responsibility of revitalization, will be able to lead us
to a bright future by thinking hard and presenting contrasting ideas and values. We hope this booklet serves
as one tool for them to do so.

Our work to foster humanresources will continue. We
will step forward boldly
together with the younger
generations for the sake ofrevitalizing our region.

Planning and Publishing

NPO Happy Road Net
President: Yumiko Nishimoto

2-1-5 Koyodai, Hirono-machi, Futaba-gun, Fukushima 979-0407, Japan
Tel: (+81) 240-23-6172 Fax: (+81) 240-23-6171 Email: office@happyroad.net

Editorial staff
Mr. Hiroshi Kainuma (Associate Professor, The Kinugasa Research Institute, Ritsumeikan University)
Mr. Yasuhiro Takamura (Teacher, Shinchi high school)
Mr. Yusuke Hemmi (Fukushima Minyu Shimbun)
Mr. Masashi Yamazaki (Fukushima-Minpo Co., Ltd.)Mr. Hirokazu Tanaka (Maeda Corporation)

37

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