From staff

The bishops of the Anglican-Episcopal Church in Japan met on October 27th and 28th.

Original Japanese written by  staffer
The English below translated from the original Japanese by Heeday
The English translation edited by Rev. Dr. Henry French, ELCA

On Wednesday, October 27th and Thursday, October 28, 2015, all eleven bishops of the Anglican-Episcopal Church in Japan, as well as Revd. Shin’ichi Yahagi, the General Director of the Japan Province Office, came together at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Koriyama, Fukushima.

At the welcome lunch held on the 28th, together with some staffers of the church and its kindergarten
At the welcome lunch held on the 28th, together with some staffers of the church and its kindergarten

The bishops were scheduled to visit some areas hit hard by the earthquake of March 2011. To prepare them for the visit, the Project on Nuclear Power and Radiation held a PowerPoint presentation to show them the current state of those areas and to outline what they need. Prior to this meeting of the bishops, our staffers visited those areas to collect data, and then we prepared the PowerPoint slides based on the data collected.

The bishops watching the slides with good attention
The bishops watching the slides with good attention

Now, almost five years after the disaster, in Koriyama many citizens are living with the fear of radiation. At the temporary housing facilities, many residents are experiencing a greater need for mental care. Some biological mutations, probably ascribable to radiation, are developing in many plants in Fukushima Prefecture. We presented these and other issues, showing the bishops specific data.

 

Their visit to hard-hit areas --- at Tomioka Town, whose citizens are still in evacuation.
Their visit to hard-hit areas — at Tomioka Town, whose citizens are still in evacuation.
At Support Center Gangoya (Shinchi Town, Soma County, Fukushima), facilitated by Mr. Susumu Matsumoto, a staffer of our Project, some temporary housing residents described to the bishops the hardships they were still experiencing.
At Support Center Gangoya (Shinchi Town, Soma County, Fukushima), facilitated by Mr. Hiroshi Matsumoto, a staffer of our Project, some temporary housing residents described to the bishops the hardships they were still experiencing.
A memorial photo shot with temporary housing residents
A memorial photo shot with temporary housing residents
The bishops concluded their visit to hard-hit areas with a prayer on the premises where “Support Center Shinchi for Earthquake Victims” used to stand.
The bishops concluded their visit to hard-hit areas with a prayer on the premises where “Support Center Shinchi for Earthquake Victims” used to stand.