A group primarily comprising university students released a series of illustrated videos explaining the Fukushima nuclear disaster in an easy-to-understand format based on an official government investigative report.
A group primarily comprising university students released a series of illustrated videos explaining the Fukushima nuclear disaster in an easy-to-understand format based on an official government investigative report.
The group converted the contents of a 592-page report by a Diet investigatory committee released in July last year on the March 2011 accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, its aftermath and the steps the government needs to take to rectify the situation, into six movies.
The entire series runs over 16 minutes; each individual video is about two and half minutes in length.
The group called its project the Simplest Explanation of the National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission Report. Though the group is primarily made up of college students, a lawyer and other professionals from various fields also participated, with a total of more than 200 people taking part.
The group was formed in September last year and is led by Satoru Ishibashi, a former bank employee who served as an aide to the chief inspector of the Diet committee.
The six videos, featuring simple narrations, touch on how the investigation committee was formed, the exact sequence of events that took place leading to the nuclear power plant disaster, how the plant’s operator and the government responded to the accident, as well as other topics.
“We especially had difficulty choosing simple wording,” said Kenji Mishima, a third-year male student at Keio University.
The illustrated videos, posted online in early September, have been viewed more than 10,000 times to date, according to members of the project.
The Diet’s investigatory committee was dissolved after submitting its report on the accident to the speakers of the Lower House and the Upper House in July last year.
Kiyoshi Kurokawa, the former chairman of the investigatory committee, endorsed the series.
“(This just confirms) there are many wonderful and passionate young people (in Japan),” said Kurokawa. “I hope as many people as possible will watch the videos. Currently, there is a lot remaining the Diet needs to do, but few of them have been done so far.”
The student group is now making an English version of the series and intends to post them online soon. It also plans to hold three study sessions on the investigation report in Tokyo starting on Oct. 7.
To view the movies or participate in the study sessions, visit the group's website at