#Fukushima Prefectural Officials Want Children to Come to Fukushima on School Trips, Promise "Charm and Safety" and "Heart-Throbbing Experience"

Meanwhile in Fukushima Prefecture, the officials are ever more eager to persuade schools in other parts of Japan to send their pupils and students to Fukushima, for educational trips.

The officials hope that school educational trips will result in increase of tourism revenue for the prefecture.

From one of the Fukushima local newspaper Kahoku Shinpo (2/23/2013):

「教育旅行」福島に来れ！　県、呼び戻しへ本腰

Come to Fukushima on "educational trips"! The prefecture to make serious effort to win them back

福島県は福島第１原発事故で減った修学旅行や遠足の呼び戻しに本腰を入れる。原発事故と東日本大震災に遭った経験を生かして旅行企画を開発し、教諭や保護者、児童生徒に魅力と安全性をアピールする。

Fukushima Prefecture will make serious effort to win back the school trips and excursions to Fukushima, which have declined in numbers after the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident. The prefecture will develop trip plans based on the experience of the nuclear accident and the March 11, 2011 disaster, and sell such trip plans to teachers, parents and children on Fukushima's charm and safety.

津波被災地や原発事故の避難区域の住民が「語り部」となって被災体験を伝える。従来の観光スポットに加え、可能な範囲で被災地を見てもらう。複数の旅行会社に企画提案を募る。

Residents from the tsunami-affected areas and (former) evacuees in the nuclear accident evacuation zone will act as "storytellers" to relate their experience to the children. In addition to regular tourist spots, children will get to see the disaster-affected areas where possible. The prefecture will ask multiple travel agencies to propose trip plans.

原発事故で福島行きを取りやめた首都圏や九州の学校に出向いて誘致する活動も続ける。県は２０１３年度当初予算案に関連費約７５００万円を計上した。

The prefecture will continue to visit schools in the Tokyo Metropolitan areas and in Kyushu to persuade them to come to Fukushima again. These schools stopped school trips to Fukushima after the nuclear accident. The budget of about 75 million yen [US$814,000] has been included in the fiscal 2013 budget.

福島県への修学旅行などの宿泊者は原発事故前の０９年度が約７１万人、１０年度が約６７万人だったが、事故が起きた１１年度は約１３万人に激減した。特に全体の約２割を占めた東京都からの旅行は件数で８３％、人数で９１％減った。

The number of students who came to Fukushima on school trips was about 710,000 in the fiscal 2009, and 670,000 in the fiscal 2010. In the fiscal 2011 when the nuclear accident happened, the number collapsed to 130,000. The school trips from Tokyo, which used to be 20% of total school trips to Fukushima, decreased by 83% in the number of school trips and by 91% in the number of students.

宮城県からも１０年度が約３万８０００人だったのに対し、１１年度は約６１００人に落ち込んだ。

There were 38,000 students from [neighboring] Miyagi Prefecture in the fiscal 2010, but the number dropped to 6,100 in the fiscal 2011.

１２年度は会津地方で回復の兆しが出ているが、放射能に対する学校や保護者の不安は根強い。

In the current fiscal year of 2012, there are signs of recovery in the Aizu region [mountain third of the prefecture], but fear of radiation among schools and parents is deep-seated.

福島県観光交流課は「日常を取り戻しつつある県の姿を見てもらい、旅行回復につなげたい」と話している。

Fukushima Tourism Section says, "We would like [students and pupils] to see the prefecture whose life is getting back to normal, and we hope that will revive the tourism in Fukushima."

"Normal life" in Fukushima has nothing to do with the existence of radiation, much elevated than in the surrounding prefectures, but in the minds of these officials "normal life" equals "no radiation".

Or "no immediate effect on life and health", as, after all, the vast majority of Fukushima residents have stayed put for one reason or another (blaming the job situation or blaming children for wanting to stay, for example).

To promote the school trips and excursions to Fukushima, the prefecture has set up this website, no doubt paid for generously with taxpayers' money (i.e. national government subsidies). The title of the site says:

ふくしまでドキドキ体験！！やらなくちゃ！福島県教育旅行

Heart-throbbing experience in Fukushima!! We gotta do it!　Educational trips to Fukushima Prefecture

Tweet