[PRI] Fukushima Field Trip “Peace and the Future of Nuclear Power: Fukushima Perspectives” November 25-27, 2022

ICU's Peace Research Institute (PRI) would like to invite you to join us for the Fukushima Field Trip “Peace and the Future of Nuclear Power: Fukushima Perspectives” during the autumn break (November 25th through 27th).

Background

The PRI has conducted an annual research field trip to bring ICU students into contact with people who can engage them in productive dialogue about peace-and-conflict-related issues. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, field trips were made to distant locations including Okinawa and South Korea. Now that the pandemic is coming under control, the PRI would like to reintroduce the field trip in a limited form, as part of its annual research activities. In 2022, therefore, the PRI would like to conduct a brief field trip using only train and bus travel within Japan. The field trip objectives will primarily focus on the benefits to ICU students, but will also begin building relationships with people and organisations in the Tōhoku region, in order to conduct further research activities in future years.

Objectives

The project will facilitate ICU students interested in Peace Studies and related fields (Politics and International Relations, Environmental Studies, Humanities, Sociology, Media Studies, and others) to visit towns in the Fukushima former nuclear exclusion zone and to meet residents, reconstruction workers, activists, artists, etc. Students will use their firsthand experiences of observations and discussions with Fukushima residents and workers to deepen and reassess their understanding on a range of environmental and political issues including nuclear fission power; the global energy crisis; earthquake and natural disaster responses; Japanese national government policy; agriculture, fisheries, and food safety; and education (Dunning, 2008; Yergin, 2012).

Information Sessions

Information sessions on the costs and itinerary for this field trip will be held in September. If you are interested in joining us, we ask that you attend one of the information sessions. The dates will be posted on the PRI website as soon as they are determined.