October 11-12, 2021 We held an international symposium.

We held the IER international symposium “Fukushima 10 years: Forest, River, Ocean, and Food –Remaining issues for restoration-“at CORASSE Fukushima on October 11 and 12. The symposium was live-streamed online, and the total number of participants reached approximately 500.

The symposium was held on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the accident at Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant and aimed to share what has been learned during the past decade and what issues need to be addressed in the future regarding radionuclides in the environment. Co-sponsored by Sector of Fukushima Research and Development of Japan Atomic Energy Agency, National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, and Fukushima Regional Collaborative Research Center of National Institute for Environmental Studies, and supported by Fukushima Prefecture, the symposium brought together the researchers who have been studying environmental radioactivity mainly in Fukushima at the venue and online. We organized the symposium with sessions for experts (oral and poster presentations) and for the general public in the two day event.

The oral presentation for experts started with the opening speeches by the IER Director Kenji Nanba and Project Professor Mark Zheleznyak, followed by a keynote speech by Project Professor Tatsuo Torii and presentations by 11 researchers on their research results in their respective fields. The symposium for the general public on the second day featured eight researchers from the fields of forest, river, ocean, and food, as well as fish, agriculture, and restoration, as mentioned in the title of the event. They gave lectures on their research results and remaining issues, and during the general discussion, various opinions were exchanged between the speakers and participants on issues such as the ideal restoration that Fukushima should aim for.

In his closing remarks, Project Professor Alexei Konoplev, Vice Director of the IER, expressed the determination of the IER to continue the research activities to contribute to the restoration of Fukushima, thus concluding the two-day symposium.