Emperor and his family visit education facility in Fukushima Prefecture

OKUMA, FUKUSHIMA PREF. –

Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and their daughter, Princess Aiko, on Tuesday visited an educational facility in Fukushima Prefecture, which was struck by a powerful earthquake and tsunami 15 years ago.

The facility, Manabiya Yumenomori, in the town of Okuma functions as an integrated elementary and junior high school and a certified kodomoen kindergarten-nursery hybrid. Okuma is one of the two municipalities hosting Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings’ Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power station, which was severely damaged in the March 2011 disaster.

Following the nuclear accident, two elementary schools and a junior high school in Okuma were relocated to the city of Aizuwakamatsu in the prefecture. The schools were then integrated and returned to the town in 2023.