Some Japanese are pessimistic about the country's future and its declining presence in the world, but political science students from Harvard University who recently visited the Tohoku region saw strong signs of society regrouping after last March's calamities.

The group from Harvard Kennedy School comprised 29 graduate students from 12 countries with different professional backgrounds, including government bureaucrats, diplomats, journalists and leaders of nongovermental organizations.

Organized by Japanese students attending the school, the group arrived in Tokyo on March 11 for a weeklong study trip in the capital and Tohoku that also entailed meetings with politicians, including Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.