International Collaboration between Japanese, British, and American
Universities to Create Resilient Societies

The International Research Institute of Disaster Science accepted four students from University College London (one of Tohoku University’s partner institutions) for a summer internship from August 3 to 31, 2023.  During the internship program, the students visited Rikuzentakata City and Otsuchi Town in Iwate, which are both locations that were impacted by the Great East Japan Earthquake. There they spoke with residents and experienced the local culture. They also visited the Sanriku Railways Head Office, which played an important role in the post-earthquake reconstruction and gained valuable knowledge about the post-earthquake infrastructure and disaster tourism. In addition, they learned much about the recovery from the complex disaster in Fukushima by touring the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, meeting the mayor of Futaba Town, and visiting evacuee housing.