President's office

Eight years have already passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake, which was etched into the history of Japan and the memory of the people as an unprecedented catastrophe.

During this time, the reconstruction of the affected areas seems to be divided into those that have made partial progress and those that are slow to progress. The suffering of those who were injured both physically and mentally is still great, and even today, many of them are forced to live in temporary housing without even being able to do what they take for granted, such as living together with their families and doing their own work. He is leading a tough life.On the other hand, there are also voices of concern that the general public has become indifferent to the fact that the disaster has "faded" (a side that is being forgotten).

In 2018, earthquakes of magnitude (M) 6 or higher hit Shimane, Osaka, and Hokkaido in succession.

What is important for us to learn in this situation?

Recently, in a field study program conducted at our university in which students from Asia and our students participated, we conducted a survey of the areas and residents affected by the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. Appreciation of the Japanese people and "safety management", which is how to prepare for "safety and security" and how to deal with and minimize damage in the event of an earthquake that has been built from that He expressed a high interest in creating a system for ".

Japan accounts for 0.28% of the world's land area, but 20.5% of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or higher occurred in Japan, and 0.3% of the world's active volcanoes are in Japan.In addition, Japan accounts for 11.9% of the world's deaths from disasters, and XNUMX% of the damage caused by disasters worldwide.

It may be difficult to notice and forget the value of being able to live a safe and secure life in our daily lives, where crises and incidents have yet to occur.

We must reaffirm the value of these things that we tend to take for granted, and fulfill our responsibility to maintain that status.

At our university, we offer courses that disaster prevention specialists can take in all departments, and through safety management education aimed at realizing a "safe and secure" society, each person will learn the lessons learned from this great earthquake, I would like to confirm with everyone that we have a responsibility to work on creating a society that values ​​connections between people.

The school's founding spirit, "Iai-i-en," is to have an attitude of compassion and acceptance of others. It is also about creating a community.

Through the experiences and reflections you gain from these efforts, what you can do to help create a safe and secure society and environment for the future, remembering those who lost their lives and those who were affected by the disaster. is discovered and implemented.

In addition, the faculty, staff, and students of our university, who are located in a prefecture affected by the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake XNUMX years ago, understand the pain and voluntarily offer their prayers and support for recovery to the people in the affected areas as much as possible. I would like to continue

Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt condolences to all those who lost their lives in the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Kansai International University
President Atsushi Hamana