15 Years On: Ex-Teacher Shares Stories of Children Affected by Disaster

Futaba, Fukushima Pref., March 11 (Jiji Press)--Jun Izumita, a former elementary school teacher, recounts stories about the children who lost their lives in the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, as well as those who endured hardships in the aftermath of the ensuing nuclear accident.

Now 66, Izumita serves as a storyteller at the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum in the town of Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan. The museum welcomes more than 80,000 visitors each year.

Izumita retired from teaching in 2020, the same year the memorial museum opened. Motivated by memories of the children who died in the disaster, he began working there as a storyteller. "I wanted to keep sharing their stories," he says.

Each of his sessions begins with 10 seconds of silent prayer. "If you would, please close your eyes with me and pray for the souls of the children who wanted to live but could not," he tells participants.

His presentation addresses a weighty subject, yet he moves through it with energy, displaying photographs and mementos as he speaks. "Imagine it: The shaking is so intense that you can't stay on your feet unless you cling to a pillar," he says. Even the children in the audience remain engaged, according to Izumita.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]