To pass on lessons of the Great East Japan Earthquake to the world, high school students from Japan and abroad visited the affected area in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, and learned about disaster prevention and mitigation. The study tour was held ahead of the 2026 World Tsunami Awareness Day High School Summit in Iwate, which opens on the 20th for the first time in Iwate.
A total of 139 high school students and others from 14 countries, including Japan, took part. On the 19th they received explanations of the tsunami damage and the path to recovery at the Great East Japan Earthquake Tsunami Memorial Museum and the Takata-Matsubara Tsunami Memorial Park. A 17-year-old student from Cambodia, noting that her country also faces floods, said Japan's lessons are a useful reference for building and protecting communities.
With 15 years having passed since the earthquake, the summit aims to carry the memory and lessons to the next generation and the world. The students will deepen their thinking on disaster prevention and mitigation until the 22nd.
Key points
- Students from 14 countries learned on site in the affected area
- Students from other countries are drawing on their own disaster experiences to learn from Japan
- Fifteen years on, an effort to pass memory and lessons to the next generation
Why this news deserves attention
A study tour to an affected area brings a sense of reality that textbooks alone cannot. It is meaningful as a place where students from disaster-prone countries meet and share experiences.
From the viewpoint of international cooperation, sharing disaster-prevention knowledge across borders is an important theme. We hope that what young people take home will lead to better preparedness in their own communities.
Editor's comment
What the students heard and saw on site will surely become a great asset for them.
Let's keep an eye on efforts to share lessons in disaster prevention with the world.