Press Releases

1. The High School Students Summit on “World Tsunami Awareness Day” in Kuroshio was held in Kuroshio Town, Kochi Prefecture from November 25 to 26, attended by high school students from 30 countries including Japan (110 high school students from Japan and 246 high school students from overseas).

2. The high school students learned about Japan’s history of tsunami and disaster risk reduction efforts through fieldwork and discussions related to tsunami risk reduction. At a workshop, high school students gave presentations on issues for the future and the efforts underway in their countries. The summit closed with the adoption of the outcome document, the Kuroshio Declaration. On the evening of November 26, a reception hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was held, attended also by Mr. Toshihiro Nikai, Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, and other Diet members, ambassadors to Japan, and local officials and others including Mr. Masanao Ozaki, the Governor of Kochi Prefecture. Mr. Kiyoshi Odawara, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, delivered an address.

3. It is hoped that through this summit, high school students will become leaders actively engaged in minimizing the impacts of earthquakes and tsunamis and playing leading roles in the field of disaster risk reduction in their countries.