High school students from 29 countries will be invited to Japan to visit Miyagi Prefecture and Wakayama Prefecture, where they will join Japanese students to study and make field visits to learn about disaster prevention and reduction. In Kochi Prefecture, students will also participate in the High School Summit on "World Tsunami Awareness Day" in Kuroshio.

The students will learn about the history of tsunami, post-earthquake recovery/reconstruction in Japan, and disaster risk prevention and reduction efforts for a possible Nankai Trough Earthquake. The purpose of the program is to foster leaders who will be responsible for mitigating the effects of earthquakes and tsunami and building national resilience in the future.

*High School Summit on "World Tsunami Awareness Day" in Kuroshio

This international youth meeting, to be held in Kuroshio town, Kochi Prefecture, is an awareness-raising event for "World Tsunami Awareness Day" (November 5) adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in December 2015. High school students from 30 countries, including Japan, are expected to participate under the event's theme "What we, the next generation, can do to survive natural disasters from the viewpoints of self-help, cooperation and public help".

1. Overview of Activities

- Participation in High School Student Summit on "World Tsunami Awareness Day" in Kuroshio

- Study Tour in Miyagi Prefecture (field visit to the Great East Japan Earthquake disaster areas; exchange meeting with Japanese high school students, group work, etc.)

- Study Tour in Wakayama Prefecture (field visits including "Inamura-no-Hi no Yakata"; exchange meeting with Japanese high school students, etc.)

- Programs leading to the promotion of holistic understanding towards Japan, etc.

2. Summary of Visiting Groups

- Period of invitation: November 22-29, 2016

- Number of invitees: Total of 284 people (246 high school students, 38 supervisors)

- Composition of members: High school students from 29 countries and their supervisors

(Participating countries) China/Republic of Korea/India/Sri Lanka/Maldives/ Indonesia/Cambodia/Singapore/Thailand/Philippines/Brunei/Vietnam/Malaysia/ Myanmar/Laos/Samoa/ Tonga/Papua New Guinea/Palau/Fiji/Marshall/Micronesia/ U.S./Chile/Peru/Turkey/Portugal/Greece/Kenya

- Implementing organizations: Japan-China Friendship Center, Japan Overseas Cooperative Association

- Cooperating agencies: Relevant bodies in each country