Fukushima Renewable Future Fund Established to Build Brighter Future

Fukushima Renewable Future Fund website.

The Fukushima Renewable Future Fund was established on February 4, 2016, to serve as a repository for donations from both inside and outside Japan to support reconstruction efforts in Fukushima, which was severely affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake (which occurred on March 11, 2011) and the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant that accompanied the quake. The Fund aims to support initiatives in the fields of renewable energy, regional revitalization, and education and welfare, and is led by residents of Fukushima Prefecture trying to help the region recover from the disaster.

The Fund is engaged in two projects. One is a community-based project focusing on reconstruction efforts and future development in Fukushima. This project aims to discover voluntary reconstruction initiatives led by local residents, and to provide them with financial assistance using donations from Japan and abroad.

The other project records and archives memories of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. The project aims to build and operate a memorial hall that will preserve records and memories of the accident. The hall will welcome visitors from Japan and abroad and help to pass on lessons learned from the disaster to future generations.

Three months after the accident, Fukushima residents declared they would create a scenario for the future in which they will pursue sustainable development without depending on nuclear power plants. Originally, Fukushima was a place where residents lived lives emphasizing local history and traditions, showing their gratitude for the abundant blessings of nature, and maintaining warm-hearted ties among people. The Fund aims to revitalize Fukushima in the future while taking pride in the prefecture, as well as to disseminate lessons learned from the Fukushima disaster to the world in an attempt to prevent the tragedy of nuclear accidents from ever happening again here on this earth.