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Be Active, With Your Potential Ability!

Akashi National College of Technology

Y: As you know, Japan has many natural disasters in comparison with other countries. For example: Typhoons, earthquakes, tsunamis, torrential rain and more and more various concerns all the time. In Japan, these problems occur very frequently and make us fear for our lives.

T: Speaking of earthquakes in particular, two big earthquakes recently hit Japan. The Hanshin Awaji Earthquake and the Great East Japan Earthquake. We can still see traces of the damage from both of these earthquakes and the tsunami which hit after the Great East Japan Earthquake. And, this reminds us of the fear we had of them. After the Great East Japan Earthquake happened, Japan's educators grew more and more interested in disaster prevention and education for it. For example, elementary schools train children to evacuate from tsunamis. Also, the number of people who have items like emergency bags has increased.

M: However, there are few people who can act spontaneously in response to natural disasters in deciding whether or not to use evacuation shelters and the best method of contacting family members. Like this, the consciousness level of disaster prevention is greatly different from person to person.

T: To what extent, are we KOSEN students conscious of disaster prevention? We believe that many KOSEN students have almost the same level of consciousness for disaster prevention as ordinary people do. Even though KOSEN students start to take special lessons from as young as fifteen years old, they cannot make the best use of their specialty at the time of a disaster.

Y: After a disaster, we face a sudden shortage of specialized labor. Therefore, relief from other areas that have not been affected is essential. But first, it is also important that people who are affected by the catastrophe try to do something by themselves. So, by taking advantage of the very nature of a “KOSEN” education and training our technical personnel, we can be prepared to respond actively at the time of a disaster. This is an important role for “KOSEN'' now.

M: “All right, what is most necessary at the time of a disaster? And, what can we KOSEN students do at that time? ”

T: “We could do a rescue operation!”

Y: “We could help to transport goods!”

M: “Yes, yes. All of these activities require the communication of information, right?

Information is indispensable for everything when we want to come to the rescue. Don't you think so? ”

T: “Certainly.”

Y: “Yes, we cannot do anything without information such as the location and condition of those in need of aid and what kind of aid it is that they need.”

M: “Exactly, and at the time of a disaster, the most reliable method for communication is Amateur Radio. Basically, when we utilize Amateur Radio, we need a license for it. But, if you are a KOSEN student, you can get the license with just a little effort regardless of your major.”

Y: Immediately after a disaster, many people tend to contact others by mobile phone or land lines to confirm each other's safety. But, these contacts will not connect so efficiently because lines are congested instantaneously and blackouts happen, so the function of the base station simply collapses. And then, this means that we cannot make contact through conventional communication systems. Also, it is conceivable that someone may try to communicate through internet services such as email and SNS mobile. However, the time lag of such communications becomes longer in times of disaster. Because great numbers of people, who could not use telephone communication, suddenly try to text all at once. Actually, this was in fact the case at the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake regarding net services such as SNS. In addition, there is much untrue and unreliable information which unfortunately does get through. But, in such a case, amateur radio can play an active part in solving the problem.

T: When a disaster occurs, telephone lines around the damaged area become very busy. In contrast, amateur radios can secure stable communication without base stations. This is a big advantage in comparison to telephone systems. And, it was quite evident at the time of the Hanshin Awaji Earthquake. Some of the earthquake survivors who lived in Kobe made a great contribution by utilizing amateur radio for emergency communications. After the earthquake, supporters sent 260 portable radios to Kobe; they were distributed to city offices, schools, and so on. Thanks to this equipment, information about rescue attempts and the delivery of cooked rice and supply water was shared. There were many people who could handle amateur radio because they used it for their hobby, and the number of operators was nearly 5,000. In appreciation for such activity, it is often said that "After a disaster occurs, the thing which plays the most crucial role at first is amateur radio.”

Y: “Wait, can we also use it as a hobby?”

M: “You said it.”

T: “Yes, we can make many friends in other countries via amateur radio. So, by mastering amateur radio and using it, we may find prospective girlfrie…”

Y: “Anyway, going back to the subject, amateur radio enables us to keep in touch with people in other areas immediately as one of the communication base stations even without a telephone or an Internet terminal device.”

M: Actually, an amateur radio course regarding cases of disaster relief was held at Akashi KOSEN by two Akashi KOSEN alumni last summer, and there were many participants from 1st year to 7th year, including not only students majoring in electrical engineering, but also ones majoring in other subjects. During the Great Hanshin Awaji Earthquake, Mr. Fujiwara, one of the lecturers actually played an active part in the stricken area by using amateur radio because he belonged to the Japan Amateur Radio League. He has given courses on amateur radio for a long time with another lecturer, Mr. Takeichi. According to them, if we have even the lowest level, Amateur Fourth-Class Radio Operator license at the time of disaster, we can still be helpful. Regarding this level, even elementary school students can obtain the license with a little study. In addition, in the case of a Third-Class license, KOSEN students can get the license with little effort, and they can make emergency contacts and share information about supply, evacuation and so on with people at distant places.

Y: The main purpose of the workshop held at Akashi KOSEN was to help students acquire Third-Class licenses. Today, many students who attended the workshop have already passed the exam and received their licenses. The number of those students is twenty-seven, 100% of all of the students who attended the workshop and took the exam. If KOSEN students learn how to handle amateur radio; then, students and graduates can play a central part in disaster recovery.

T: For these reasons, all KOSENs should raise their students to be technical experts who play an active part in restoration and rescue operations in times of disaster.

M: And speaking of KOSEN, there are many big events such as the Robot Contest, Programming Contest, Design Competition, CAD Contest and of course this contest. So, how about establishing a new contest regarding disaster prevention? Such an event would attract students regardless of their majors, and we can expect that the event would make KOSEN students interested in the topic of disaster relief and prevention by promoting the education of it.

Y: For local residents, based on the leadership of KOSENs, we can spread our knowledge and improve the awareness of disaster relief and prevention measures.

T: In Japan, where natural disasters often occur, KOSEN students have the potential to play an active role as engineers in the future. We believe that disaster relief and prevention are problems which must be considered.

Y: We introduced using amateur radio as one example of our potential abilities. But, there are a lot of other potential scenarios in which KOSEN students can play an active part such as creating a hazard map, or developing rescue robots, and so on.

M: While we are in KOSEN, it is necessary for us who will become active engineers, to acquire knowledge, consider disaster relief and prevention, and put into practice what we learn even if it is to a small extent. We should consider this question: “What can we do at the time of a disaster as KOSEN students?” and we should make the best use of our situation, in which we can start to acquire professional skills and knowledge earlier and longer than other students outside of colleges of technology. Because our road to becoming professional engineers has already started.