◆ Resonating “sense of mission”
After the Great East Japan Earthquake, a sailing ship appeared at Onahama Port (Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture). It was the Kaiwomaru, a training vessel of the Sailing Training Center (currently the Maritime Education Organization). From March 21 to 27, 2011, relief activities were conducted locally. They provided meals and baths to residents in the neighborhood affected by the disaster, as well as to TEPCO officials who are working to bring the nuclear accident under control. There was an exchange of hearts between people with a sense of mission.
The Kaiwomaru was struck by the earthquake in Tokyo Bay. The trainees had just returned home the day before after completing about three months of sailing training. She evacuated immediately offshore and returned to port a few days later. At that time, I heard about the dispatch to Onahama Port.
