Iitate Village
Mihori Takahashi

“I have been having a strong desire to go to university and study hard.”

“If I looked back to the time when I first evacuated from Iitate Village, I was concerned　that in the future, I would regret that I spent these days just being busy with miscellaneous daily chores. I really wanted to gain something and use that time to learn something. I think this time has been specially gifted, so I have decided to go to university.”
Now, Mihori-san is a student in the Faculty of Administration and Social Sciences at a university in Fukushima. The main target of the Faculty since 1987 is to produce graduates who are able to meet the demand to work for the coming era of decentralization and localization. The students there are mixed in different age groups and come from all over Japan. One of them comes from Hyogo Pref. where the big earthquake hit in 1991. Another comes from Iwaki where his house was washed away by the tsunami in 2011. They exchange their heart-breaking stories, and then they can understand each other and that everyone needs to support each other.
“I have already known how relationships can be built through my previous work experience in a book shop for 10 years. Now I would like to study it logically and systematically through field work study. I really want to study hard, then I would like to contribute to help develop the local community. However, I am wondering if I can find a job like that. I hope I can.”

Interviewed in February, 2014
Photographer : Hiroyuki Tamura