Japan: Disaster Mitigation & Nuclear to Renewable Transitions

I have been speaking Japanese for 10 years now and when I decided to study nuclear engineering, my life's goal has been to work for TEPCO to help clean up the 2011 disaster. So for the past 8 years, I have been dreaming of visiting Fukushima, especially the Daiichi/Daini power plants. This trip fell into my lap about 5/6 weeks before it was supposed to happen and I applied. I was immediately accepted and started crying because my dreams were about to become a reality.

Fast forward to the trip: it was so much better than I had imagined. The cultural activities were almost like participating in a homestay, for most of the trip we stayed in traditional hotels and inns (my second favorite part of the trip). The sustainable events were incredible, especially seeing all of the amazing work being done on improving renewable energies, the testing facility for the clean up robots in Daiichi (JAEA), and the radiation coursework at Fukushima Tech. There are so many awesome things to do on this program and the minute I came back to UMich, I told everyone in my class about it.

I honestly can't put into words how amazing this study abroad was. From learning about the 2011 disaster to being able to see the recovery efforts that the local communities have made first hand, this was an experience of a lifetime. Our group met so many amazing people working on all the different sides of Fukushima's recovery; including those at JAEA, the professors at the Fukushima College, and the locals working to improve the state of their communities. We were able to take a bus tour of the exclusion zone, see the clean-up efforts to collect contaminated top-soil, and we even got a tour of the Daini Nuclear Power-plant. I highly recommend this program to anyone wanting to go abroad, regardless of background or major. TGP truly offers a life-changing experience with their Japan program.

An absolutely life changing experience where you get to visit and truly immerse yourself within a community that was devastated by a natural disaster. The curation of the coursework, capstone development, and hands-on interaction and learning truly made the experience one to remember.

It was especially insightful to see the metamorphosis of the Fukushima energy profile as we went to visit FREA and JAEA. At JAEA, seeing the integration of advance technology in the realm of disaster mitigation was encouraging and an eye opening experience. At FREA, seeing the commitment of all the scientists to 100% renewable Fukushima was evident and profoundly inspirational.

Trying to describe the Green Program's education program in Japan is hard to do. You experience Japan from a personal one on one perspective with the locals. You learn about the culture first hand. There is no other way to learn about the resilience of the people of Japan and Fukushima than on the ground talking with them. I was able to see where the disaster occurred and was able to attempt to understand the disaster. The kindness and respect given is unlike any other place on Earth.