Words given by Nada High School teachers—”Anything that is tangible can be destroyed, but what you have learned can never be destroyed”—become Maekawa’s guiding principle in life

Mr. Naoya Maekawa currently holds the positions of Director and Executive Secretary of Fukushima Manabi-no Network, a general incorporated association providing a place of learning for high school students in Fukushima Prefecture. When the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake struck, he was a third-year high school student and had just completed the National Center Test for University Admission, which is the standardized preliminary examination for university applicants.

photo: Naoya Maekawa, Director and Executive Secretary of a general incorporated association, Fukushima Manabi-no (Learning) Network

On January 16, the day after the National Center Test, I went to school and then to a karaoke box in Sannomiya with some classmates for a break. I had an early night that night because classes for preparation for secondary exams were due to start the following day. At the time, I lived with my parents and my younger brother on the fifth floor of a seven-story apartment building south of JR Tachibana Station.

I heard a rumbling sound and was then hit by a thrusting motion from below, followed by horizontal shaking. I first thought that a large truck had crashed into my apartment building. The tremors opened the doors of a closet in my room, from which a stack of study-aid books fell out. I put my head into the space left by the fallen books to protect myself.

Mr. Maekawa’s mother ran a café on the north side of the station, and his father operated a mahjong parlor on the second floor of the same building. All of his family members at home were all right, but they saw flames rising from residential areas from their fifth floor balcony. After waiting for dawn to break, he went to see his grandparents who lived on the north side of the station to confirm their safety, and then to his mother’s café. The doors and walls of the café were destroyed and everything inside was a mess. While he and his family were at a loss for what to do, other store owners of the shopping district and the café’s regular customers offered their support.

On the day of the earthquake or the day after, one of our customers who lived in an area that had suffered relatively little damage in Amagasaki City, where we also lived, came to pick us up to let us use his bath at his home. On the following days, store owners of the shopping district helped each other, for example, by sharing food.

Concerned about the fact that his parents’ store building had been destroyed, Mr. Maekawa felt conflicted over whether he should give up the idea of going to university under such circumstances. Higashinada Ward, where Nada High School was located, was heavily affected by the quake. The school buildings served as a mortuary and then as an evacuation center, leaving no room for students to study.

A week or so later, I got a call from my classroom teacher telling me to come to Shin-Osaka, where he was going to give his students school records that were necessary for college applications. He then said, “You should study all the harder because of this situation.” I didn’t understand what he meant then and there. But I knew our teachers had taken the trouble to find our school records from the messy teacher’s room, and copy and print them in places where electricity was available in order to hand them to us. I can never thank them enough. At our graduation ceremony on a later date, many teachers gave remarks in their own words, expressing the conviction, “Anything that is tangible can be destroyed, but what you have learned and what has been taught to you can never be destroyed.” These words made me realize that what I could do now was study, and they were etched indelibly on my mind.

Photo: Mr. Maekawa says he met wonderful teachers and friends during his student days at Nada High School

Mr. Maekawa was admitted to the Division of Humanities and Social Sciences III at the University of Tokyo, his first choice. The percentage of Nada High School students who passed the entrance examination for the University of Tokyo that year reportedly differed little from that in the average year. This was nothing less than an outstanding achievement, given the circumstances following the earthquake. After entering university, Mr. Maekawa became deeply involved in teaching at a cram school, which he did part-time to earn a living.

Upon finishing university, he gained a regular job at the cram school. After working for four years at the school, he returned to the Kansai region to study in a master’s program at Kyoto University under Professor Shizuko Koyama, who specialized in gender history. Around the same time, he became a teacher at Nada High School and spent quality time as a teacher.

The Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011 significantly changed Mr. Maekawa’ outlook and life. According to him, there are some things about the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake that he still cannot recall. Similarly, the Great East Japan Earthquake caused his mind to go to blank.

I learned about the situation of the quake in the Tohoku region and the incidents at the nuclear plants in Fukushima on the news, but I couldn’t collect my thoughts. So, I didn’t go to the affected area immediately. But I was always conscious that I should go there.

I took several days off in August that year and went to quake-hit Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture together with some fellow teachers. On seeing the unimaginably terrible situation, I regretted not having gone there sooner. In the case of an earthquake, the destroyed objects remain where they are. However, a tsunami sweeps everything away.

When Mr. Maekawa returned to his school and told his students about the situation in the affected areas, the chair of the welfare committee of the student council and some other students came forward to visit the disaster area in March of the following year. Fortunately, a person who represented an NPO that provided reconstruction support in Natori City, Miyagi Prefecture was going to deliver a talk at Nada High School. So Mr. Maekawa could ask him to arrange for accommodation and a person who could provide some guidance on volunteer work for the students.

Photo: Mr. Maekawa talking at a public program held on Nov. 29, 2014 as part of the “Research on Economy And Social Exclusion (REASE)” project led by the University of Tokyo. The program provided an opportunity for high school student groups who had achieved excellent results at the “Fukushima High School Students’ Social Activity Contest” to give a presentation of their activities.
* The University of Tokyo’s REASE is a new research approach that developed out of a research project that dealt with issues relating to the economy and disabilities, using the term “social barriers” as its research keyword, until March 2013. REASE focuses on the same keyword and covers issues concerning long-standing health problems and child protection in addition to those covered by its preceding project.

There was another point of contact between Nada High School and the Tohoku region. Mr. Masahiro Kami, who had graduated from Nada High School and was a medical doctor and Project Professor at the Institute of Medical Science, the University of Tokyo, and Mr. Masaharu Tsubokura, who had also graduated from Nada High School, began relief activities in the devastated areas soon after the disaster. On Dr. Kami’s recommendation, students of Nada High School began interacting with students of Soma High School in Fukushima Prefecture. Later, Nada High School students were given the opportunity to go to Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture as well.

There are many admirable adults coming to Fukushima. One example is Mr. Tsubokura, who I mentioned earlier. He is a long-time alumnus of Nada High School, and a doctor who studied in the Division of Natural Science III and the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Tokyo. Despite such an illustrious background, he frequents Minamisoma City to provide support.

I said to Mr. Tsubokura, “It’s amazing that you take part in support activities despite being so busy,” to which he answered, “I studied with a view to becoming helpful on occasions like this.” which I found really admirable. The important point, I think, is that his behavior can make his students realize that they too are studying for such an occasion.

Photo: Mr. Maekawa discussing the arrangements for the public program with members of a high school student group participating in “AIDEMI,” an exchange activity between high school students from China and Japan

In fact, according to Mr. Maekawa’s account, those students of Nada High School who had visited the disaster-stricken areas began devoting themselves more diligently to their studies and learning about the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. More of the students have come to participate in memorial events to remember the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake and go to the Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution to learn about the earthquake. They have also taken a leading role in a project planned by Nada High School students for the 20th anniversary of the earthquake.

I think the Fukushima nuclear disaster could have made children living in Fukushima lose their faith in adults. However, there are many children who want to become doctors or teachers. That’s because they have been supported by teachers, parents, doctors, local residents, and people who came from other places. Adults who remained on the sidelines outside Fukushima, including myself, owe a debt of gratitude to the adults who have been active in Fukushima.

Mr. Maekawa left teaching at Nada High School to establish the Fukushima Manabi-no Network association. The association cooperates closely with school teachers in Fukushima for the purpose of providing children in Fukushima with study support and training people who will continue the association’s activities.

One of the activities is the “free study seminar and camp for high school students.” The lecturer line-up for the program includes: Mr. Tatsuya Kimura, who is a teacher at Nada High School and the author of Yumetan, a popular series of English reference books; Mr. Takeshi Fujii, who is a charismatic teacher of modern Japanese at the major Japanese cram school Yoyogi Seminar; and Mr. Suri-tetsujin, who was an instructor in the “Mathematics Top Seminar” conducted in Fukushima Prefecture.

Another example is the “College Student Mentor Program,” which is run in cooperation with the University of Tokyo’s REASE project. College student mentors counsel high school students about study methods and future courses after graduation. The third example is the “High School Students’ Social Activity Contest,” which is also conducted in partnership with REASE. This program spotlights social activities in areas such as volunteering, international exchange, town revitalization, and product development.

Photo : The mentor program

Photo : A free seminar for high school students

There are projects to be implemented for the creation of employment in Fukushima. However, even if there are jobs, no family would want to move to Fukushima unless a sound educational environment is available.

Another issue I would like to mention is that junior and senior high school students nowadays only study about a half to two-thirds as many hours outside of school as students did 30 years ago. This is partly attributable to Japan’s falling birthrate. They don’t have to compete so fiercely to go to university. Thirty years ago, people believed that attending a good university guaranteed employment at a good company and a life of wealth and ease. Such thinking does not hold water with today’s students.

Photo: Dance performance by members of the Saotome Dance Preservation Club, Fukushima Prefectural Aizu Agricultural and Forestry High School

Photo: A presentation about “AIDEMI,” exchange activity between high school students of China and Japan

Go back to the starting point and rethink why we study. It’s to make people happy. Children in Fukushima understand that they are supported by many people and want to become providers of support in the future. If you want to give assistance to someone, you must acquire the ability to do so. This logic of study needs to be applied throughout Japan, and I would like to make Fukushima the first successful case.

It is true that there are still a number of issues to be solved in Fukushima. However, many high school students in Fukushima show a constructive attitude, thinking people can learn and grow from problems. I think, if Fukushima raises its profile as a prefecture that encourages independent study, kids who grow up in Fukushima will be proud of their prefecture and more and more people will want to live in Fukushima.

“Study to make someone happy and smile.”
Mr. Maekawa’s ambition is to promote this new study concept from Fukushima to the whole of Japan and the world.

(Interviewed and written by Yumiko Takayama)