The coming-of-age ceremony was held for the first time in 10 years in Okuma Town, Fukushima Prefecture, where evacuation orders due to the nuclear accident were partially lifted.
Forty-six new adults who were in the fourth grade at the time of the nuclear accident participated in the coming-of-age ceremony, and the venue was a newly constructed exchange facility for the revitalization of the town.
Initially, the coming-of-age ceremony was scheduled to be held in January in Iwaki City, where many residents still evacuate, but it has been 10 years since the coming-of-age ceremony was postponed twice due to the influence of the new coronavirus. It was done locally in Iwaki.
At the ceremony, Mr. Akira Endo, a third-year university student who wants to get a job related to decommissioning in the future, said, "Even though something that changed the everyday life that I took for granted happened, my family and teachers who watched over our growth. I am grateful to the teachers and the people of Okuma Town, and I pledge to continue walking every day to open a life full of hope and happiness, "he said on behalf of the new adults.
And the new adults who gathered for the first time in a long time were pleased to see their friends again by taking commemorative photos.
A new adult woman currently living in Kanagawa Prefecture said, "I haven't seen my classmates for 10 and a half years since the nuclear accident, so I'm really looking forward to it. I want to take this opportunity to become a solid adult." I was talking.