The eight young people at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan with Education Division Director Huang Guan-Chao (7th left)

The Ministry of Education’s Youth Development Administration selected eight outstanding young people from Taiwan to visit Japan from October 6 to November 1 to take part in a Taiwan Global Pathfinders Initiative program called Messengers of Rebirth and Hope, jointly organized by the Youth Development Administration, the Education Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan, and the Japan International Cooperation Center (JICE).

JICE maintains close ties with the Japanese government and it regularly conducts international training and exchange programs commissioned by the Japanese government, for human resource development to strengthen friendly relations between Japan and other countries. This project was the first collaboration between JICE and Taiwan’s Ministry of Education Youth Development Administration.

The eight young people took part in a training program at JICE. The program included internship experiences in JICE’s International Exchange Department, interactions with young Japanese people, and field studies of disaster recovery in Fukushima Prefecture. In 2011 Fukushima was devastated by the world’s 4th largest recorded earthquake, known in Japan as the Great East Japan Earthquake, and the visiting young people from Taiwan were taken to the region to learn about its subsequent recovery and reconstruction efforts.

The participants shared their insights and reflections following their trip to Fukushima at a presentation session at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan on October 31. They were deeply moved by the determination and perseverance of the residents of Fukushima who were collectively rebuilding their communities, and they gained a profound understanding of the merciless and devastating nature of disasters. The experience had highlighted the importance of disaster preparedness and evacuation planning in daily life.

The participants expressed their great gratitude to the Youth Development Administration for providing this valuable opportunity. They drew inspiration from what they saw of Japan’s post-disaster reconstruction and disaster prevention measures. And after returning to Taiwan, they plan to talk widely about their experiences in Japan and the insights they gained, and to work together to make Taiwan a safe, sustainable, and better homeland.