インターン日誌

インターンのルイハンです。

I can’t believe my six-week internship at FoE Japan will end in two days. It is a precious opportunity spending time with all FoE staff and having the unique experience at here. I learned new knowledge and gained whole new information about environmental issues in Japan. And I would like to talk about it at here.

The office was a typical Japanese style apartment and the atmosphere was like working at home. The staff were close to each other and talk about daily life when having lunch. The specialty in the house was miso soup. They made miso soup in turn with different ingredients every day which makes me feel more like a home-style work. The staff was super nice and patient with me and the anxiety had on the first day all went away.

My interest at FoE Japan was nuclear energy. I usually worked with Yoshida-san, Ayumi-san, and Yano-san. I can’t speak Japanese well so my help is limited to them even if I want to. But they were helpful to me most of time. During the daily work, I’ve seen, heard and felt things which help me generate many questions and thoughts that want to get answers from them. I attended several events with staff as well such as the lecture given in Rikkyo University by Yoshida-san, Taiwan nuclear policy seminar, and plan of nuclear policy revision symposium. From these activities, I got to know a lot of real-time information which would be very useful for my academic research.

Besides, the camp trip with Yano-san to Inawashiro was totally a fresh experience to me. Poka-Poka Project is indeed a good program organized and proceeded by FoE Japan. It provides opportunities for kids to recover in nature and to gather more families together to share thoughts. I met many kids and families who were from Fukushima prefecture. We had fun for three days and the joy kids obtained from the trip left in my memory. If I have a chance in the near future, I do want to join the camp trip again.

After this internship, personally, I think it is important to carry out the nuclear phase-out for Japan in the future by considering the aspects of geography, natural disasters, safety problem of nuclear power plants, the future of younger generations, the will of citizens, the development of nation and the protection of the environment. And the efforts made by the NGOs and people who oppose the nuclear energy so far seems to make a step further to realize the goal.

All the staff at FoE Japan are working hard for their jobs and continuing their passion for it is commendable when so many around them seem unaware of the environmental problems. Under the influence of them, I think I was motivated to work hard and improved some awareness and sympathy towards the environmental issues which corresponded to my goal to become an intern at FoE Japan. When I get back to school, I will recommend this internship to other students who would be interested in the environmental field and Japanese cultures. And I hope what I am writing could be helpful for you to explore more about FoE Japan.