Tohoku Center

Dear JICA Participants,

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the JICA knowledge co-creation program. I would like to express my gratitude again for your commitment to participating in this JICA program during this challenging time. It is our hope that all of you will gain new knowledge that will contribute to achieving your goals and that you will foster strong links between your home country and Japan, helping create a bridge for our future.

JICA has a strong belief and a vision to lead the world through trust. Strengthening the bonds between our countries, based on personal bonds, is needed more than ever during these unprecedented times.

JICA has conducted international cooperation projects in more than 150 countries and regions around the world. It has 15 domestic offices in different regions across Japan. Each office works to connect these Japanese regions with the rest of the world, by bringing to each project a regional strength. As for the training program, Tohoku has hosted approximately 400 participants of the technical training programs as well as JICA scholarship students from developing countries every year, providing technical expertise knowledge through these programs. JICA Tohoku Center has a broad range of international cooperation projects in collaboration with local governments, NGOs and NPOs, private sectors initiatives, and academia, as well as developing education programs, in the field of the development education, that aim to raise public awareness and understanding towards developing countries and international cooperation as a whole.

Now, I would like to take this opportunity to give a brief overview of the north-eastern region called Tohoku. This region consists of 6 prefectures. These are: Aomori, Iwate, Akita, Miyagi, Yamagata, and Fukushima. The land mass of Tohoku covers a wide area amounting to one fifth of the entire Japanese archipelago. Maximizing the resources from this nature rich land the Tohoku region has a large percentage of agriculture, forestry, and fishery, making a significant contribution towards securing a stable food supply for Japan. If you have a chance to visit the Tohoku region, please enjoy the beautiful nature and tasty food.

The people of Tohoku seem quite patient, dedicated, and tolerant. I believe a part of the reason for this may be due to the abundance of nature. It is said that many people from Tohoku tend to be generous and ready to do favors for others. So, the program hosting organizations have made a particular effort to deliver Japanese experiences and knowledge through remote programs. I assure you that you will feel the spirit of hospitality when you visit Tohoku.

The Tohoku region experienced damage of an unprecedented scale during the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami that occurred on March 11, 2011. More than 20,000 people either lost their lives or are regarded as still missing. A countless number of sympathetic and encouraging messages as well as relief assistance reached to Tohoku from international communities around the world. I thank you all for that, from the bottom of my heart. March 2021 will mark ten years since the disaster. The post catastrophe rehabilitation efforts are still ongoing. As Tohoku has experienced repeated natural disasters, the people of Tohoku have accumulated their knowledge and technology in disaster risk reduction, disaster response, post-disaster reconstruction, etc.

The "Knowledge Co-Creation" Program presents a particular character of JICA's training programs. It is hoped that program participants will learn from Tohoku as well as the overall Japanese experiences; at the same time, we hope to learn a lot from you as well.

Once again, welcome to JICA knowledge co-creation program and to Tohoku.