Details of the Initiative

I lived in Fukushima when the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred. This is one of the reasons that I became interested in how effective disaster countermeasures can be implemented.

From the legal approach, which is my specialty, we first consider how to interpret and operate the legal system for disaster countermeasures currently in place. After that, if the current legal system has limitations, designing a new system will be considered. In any case, We believe that legal guarantees are important to ensuring effective disaster countermeasures.

Of course, the legal approach alone has its limits. Although jurisprudence can present legally permissible mechanisms, it is essential to refer to knowledge of sociology, political science, economics, and other fields in order to aim for more rational mechanisms. In this regard, the School of Information and Communication, where I currently teach, offers an optimal research and educational environment, since it places importance on solving problems in modern society through interdisciplinary analysis . In order to make the most of this environment in terms of education, we have been working on legal policy proposals based on literature research and fieldwork in our seminars over the past few years on the theme of “regional revitalization and environmental recovery after the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Accident.” I am looking forward to hearing what kinds of propsals this year’s seminar students will present.

Ukedo Fishing Port in Namie-machi, Fukushima, in October 2013, two and a half years after the Great East Japan Earthquake. The stone monument of “The Sun Rises” encouraged me and made me feel motivated: “The sun will rise again.”
I visited Kumamoto in June 2016, two months after the Kumamoto earthquake.
I place great importance on seeing the site with my own eyes, listening to the people involved with my own ears, and thinking with my own head, looking ahead to the future.
In the first seminar of academic year 2024, fourth-year students report the previous year’s research results to third-year students. The theme for academic year 2023 was “policy to support migrants and settlements under the Act on Special Measures for the Reconstruction and Revitalization of Fukushima.”