One
Year Later, Smith Remembers Fukushima
One year after a devastating
off-shore earthquake and resultant tsunami struck the Fukushima
Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant on the east coast of Japan,
on March 11, 2011, scientists and researchers are still learning
about the full impact of the largest nuclear disaster since
the Chernobyl meltdown in 1986.
 On
Friday and Saturday, March 9 and 10, the Consul General of
Japan in Boston, the Honorable Takeshi Hikihara, will visit
campus for “Smith
Remembers Fukushima,” a series of talks and panels analyzing
the disaster. The symposium events are free and open to the
public and will take place in Graham Auditorium, Hillyer
Hall.
Hikihara will open the symposium
on March 9 with a discussion, “Japan Faces the Future: Overcoming the Devastation
of 3/11,” about the current situation in Japan following
the Great East Japan Earthquake along the northeastern coast,
beginning at 4 p.m. in. He will provide details on the ongoing
recovery process, discuss the current realities in the aftermath
of the earthquake, and explain future prospects for the rebuilding
of Japan.
Hikihara will give opening remarks
at 9 a.m. on March 10 to introduce two roundtable discussions
with Smith faculty: “The View from Kyoto” and “The View from Smith.”
Hikihara has served Consul General
of Japan in Boston since January 2011. He served as Secretary-General
for the 2010 Japan APEC Meeting in Yokohama, and in that
capacity was responsible for hosting a yearlong series of
conferences for heads of state and ministers from the 21-member
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation. In his 29-year career,
Hikihara has served in the Prime Minister’s office and
in the embassies of Senegal, South Korea, Russia, and in the Japanese mission
at the OECD in France.
“Smith Remembers Fukushima” is sponsored by the Global Studies Center and the
Program in East Asian Studies. View the symposium schedule. |
