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The Future of Japan

Saitou So (Kagawa National College of Technology, Takamatsu)

I feel Japan has completely changed. Don't you think so?

We are in the aftermath of the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami. The disaster caused immeasurable damage to the eastern areas of Japan. In this extremely destructive earthquake and tsunami, people lost their families, friends, houses, jobs, hometowns and communities in an instant. I suppose that means people have lost important things for life: peace of mind, mutual support, and a vision for the future. This "unprecedented" loss has had a profound impact on Japan as a whole, and also upon the world.

We are also faced with serious radioactive leakage problems because the earthquake and tsunami destroyed some nuclear power plants. This disaster reminded us that radioactivity, an invisible danger, is a real threat to our lives, contaminating air, water, and food. The earthquake demonstrated, in a shocking way, that our seemingly ordinary and secure life is actually very fragile.

I was irritated because Japanese people had not seemed to think about the future of this country seriously. Especially the politicians. How many people truly understand the severity of the situation? This earthquake is now urging us to understand the present situation in Japan, and think about what kind of country we should be in the future.

One day I talked to a teacher about this. He was listening attentively and said, "Well, how about you? What's your idea? What do you propose for Japan's future?"

"Japan has great technologies," I answered. "We can repair the destroyed roads in a few days so that trucks can go to the shelters with relief goods. We can make the world's best super computers. They say Japan has been leading the world in technology. If this is true, we should make use of it in the future, too."

The teacher folded his arms and said, "But I think Japanese technical innovation is not as remarkable as it once was. You see, China and other countries are becoming more and more powerful."

"You're right," I replied. "But I believe there must be something only Japan can do."

"What's that?" the teacher asked.

I answered, "Only Japan has experienced the terror of atomic bombs. And now, we have learned about the dangers of nuclear power. We have therefore experienced the danger of radioactivity twice. We should share the lesson we have learned with other countries and say 'No nuclear power.'"

Then the teacher said thoughtfully, "I see your point. But Japanese society is heavily dependent on nuclear power. Without nuclear power plants, the advances of Japanese technology will continue to shrink."

What the teacher said was realistic and convincing, but I wanted to stick to my opinion. "You cannot say nuclear power plants are perfectly safe because we cannot predict natural disasters and nuclear waste is also dangerous. So, I think we need to produce energy in different ways. I think using natural gas is the best. Natural gas burns more cleanly than oil or coal."

"I see," the teacher said, "That's not a bad idea. Well then, why don't you take an internship at a gas company?"

Thus, last summer, on my teacher's advice, I did an internship at Osaka Gas. I learned a lot about natural gas while working there. For example I learned that there is a big gas field in the Kanto area of Japan, and that we can develop more natural gas resource if we improve drilling techniques, and so on.

What I became interested in the most is natural gas-powered fuel cells. A fuel cell is a device that converts the chemical energy of a fuel directly into electricity by electrochemical reactions. It takes in hydrogen from fuel and oxygen from air, and turns them into electricity and heat. This is a very clean method because the waste product is only water. Furthermore, hydrogen can be extracted from natural gas, making it a potential energy source for the future.

Now I'm thinking of doing research in natural gas powered-fuel cells. I'd like to make them more efficient, more compact, and less expensive so that they can compete with traditional methods of power generation.

Japan is at a crossroads now. On March eleventh of this year, we lost a lot, but we also learned a lot. We can survive and gain more than the loss. It depends on our effort. So, we students are studying to help push this country forward.