Graduation ceremonies for students at junior high schools vacated because of the Fukushima nuclear disaster were held on March 13, often in front of rows of empty seats in improvised locations.
Graduation ceremonies for students at junior high schools vacated because of the Fukushima nuclear disaster were held on March 13, often in front of rows of empty seats in improvised locations.
Hirono Junior High School in Hirono, Fukushima Prefecture—located about 25 kilometers from the nuclear plant—held its ceremony in a lobby on the second floor of Yumoto Second Junior High in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, because the Yumoto school was using its gym for its ceremony.
“We lit a fire for Hirono Junior High here, though small,” Hirono Principal Takami Yoshida told the graduates.
Only 13 students attended the ceremony out of a graduating class of 81. Many of Hirono’s students are attending different schools in Iwaki and other municipalities.
“I wanted to graduate with all the members getting together,” said Daishi Endo, 15. “But I’m happy Hirono had its own ceremony.”
Of the 10 schools that were forced to hold ceremonies away from their own buildings, many saw much reduced attendance. Okuma Junior High School, which moved to Aizu-Wakamatsu, had 71 graduates attending out of a class of 135. Namie’s three schools, which have moved to Nihonmatsu, had a total of just 14 students out of about 200.
Fukushima as a whole saw 19,900 junior high school students graduate this year, down by 599 from last year. A significant number of students have moved out of the prefecture following the nuclear accident.