Seminar marks anniversary of quake
BUILDING RESILIENCE: As Japan is prone to earthquakes and tsunami, it puts great efforts into disaster prevention, Japanese Representative to Taiwan Hiroyasu Izumi said
By Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter
The UK yesterday joined Taiwan, Japan and the US at a seminar in Taipei to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Japan’s Great Tohoku Earthquake, with participants highlighting the need to build resilience to natural disasters.
The seminar was part of the Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF), which was established by Taiwan and the US in 2015, and engaged Japan as a cohost in 2019.
In his opening speech, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said the seminar is meaningful, because it was this year’s first GCTF event and the first time the UK joined the framework as a cohost.
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Achieving a nuclear-free homeland
By Shih Shin-Min 施信民
This year is the 10th anniversary of Japan’s Great Tohoku Earthquake and the ensuing Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster. It is also a crucial year for Taiwan, one that could see the nation bidding farewell to nuclear power and marching in the direction of a “nuclear-free homeland.” A national referendum is to take place on Aug. 28 to decide the future of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮).
On March 11, 2011, an earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan led to the failure of four reactor cores and gas explosions at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, causing a large amount of radioactive material to leak. The Japanese government ordered the emergency evacuation of about 140,000 residents living within a 20km radius.