Issues Related to the Passing Down of the Experience of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident and Environmental Education: Recent Initiatives of the Fukushima-Project Research Group

Nuclear accidents have caused various problems, which will continue to affect the future.One was the bullying of children who were evacuated from their homes after a nuclear accident.In response to this problem, the Japan Society for Environmental Education issued an emergency presidential statement entitled, "To schools and communities hosting refugee children from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident."The statement pointed out that "it is clear that there is no threat of Fukushima resident and children evacuees spreading radioactive contamination, and these people have been driven from their homes, separated from family, neighbors and friends, and are now living as refugees." 1) In the statement, the president also asks people to "try to share understanding the grief they must feel" and "I implore you: Do not hurt these evacuated children and residents any more with unscientific, irrational discrimination and generalizations, based only on your fears of the nuclear accident and radioactive contamination". 2)In April 2011, the Japanese Society for Environmental Education formed the "Discussing the Nuclear Accident" Lesson Plan Development Working Group to develop a lesson plan for schools to prevent bullying of children evacuated due to the nuclear accident.By 2014, this working group had produced three lesson plans, "Discussing the Nuclear Accident 1, 2 and 3," and published a book titled "Discussing the Nuclear Accident," which compiles these lesson plans.This book addresses issues for evacuees, why nuclear power plants are located in Fukushima Prefecture and other rural areas, and how to deal with nuclear power plants and nuclear accidents in the future.The contents of this book are designed to assist people in schools and communities across the country to think about what we can learn from the Great East Japan Earthquake and Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster ("Discussing the Nuclear Accident" Lesson Plan Development Working Group 2014).In particular, "Lesson Plan: What About the Nuclear Accident 1" has been translated into seven languages and is still available on the JSFEE website.In 2016, this working group evolved into "the Fukushima Project Research Group."This research group has been conducting long-term research and surveys on the situation regarding