The first anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake is a time to commemorate the victims of that terrible tragedy. But it is also an opportunity to look to the future.
How will the events of March 11, 2011 — and the subsequent ongoing crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant — shape the rising generation? How will they influence their goals and dreams? What kind of country will they want for their children?
Although the disasters last March occurred in the Tohoku region of northeastern Honshu, their effects extend far beyond, both physically and through changed outlooks on life and changes in values among people throughout the country, from Hokkaido all the way to Kyushu, Shikoku and distant Okinawa.