Training Vessel for Joint Use by Iwate Fisheries High Schools CompletedCompletion Ceremony to be Held Ahead of Launch

Time: February 14, 2015 (Saturday), Press briefing 10:00, Completion ceremony 10:45–14:00
Location: Miyako Public Hall and Fujiwara Wharf, Miyako Port (Miyako, Iwate Prefecture)

As part of its efforts to support northeastern Japan’s recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Nippon Foundation has subsidized the construction of a training vessel, an “oceangoing classroom,” to be jointly used by three fisheries and maritime high schools in Iwate Prefecture. A ceremony to mark the completion of the construction and a tour of the vessel will be held on February 14.

Photo of the training vessel

The training vessel previously used by the three prefectural fisheries and maritime high schools (Miyako Fisheries High School, Takata High School, and Kuji Higashi High School) was destroyed by the tsunami triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake, and the students have been unable to engage in sufficient onboard practice of coastal fishing techniques. The Nippon Foundation, as part of its support for the region’s reconstruction, decided in November 2012 to subsidize the construction of a new vessel to enable young people to carry on the region’s marine products industries going forward. The vessel has been constructed by Yamanishi Corporation of Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture.

Takuya Tasso, governor of Iwate Prefecture, Mitsuyuki Unno, executive director of the Nippon Foundation, and roughly 330 students who will receive instruction using the vessel will attend the completion ceremony to be held at Miyako Public Hall, and a representative of the students will acknowledge receipt of the vessel. The tour of the vessel at Fujiwara Wharf will also include a delivery and tape-cutting ceremony and a photo exhibition featuring the area’s fisheries industry.

A press briefing will be held prior to the completion ceremony, to provide members of the media with information regarding the project’s history, the vessel’s specifications, and how it will be used.

Contact

Public Relations Section, Communications Department
The Nippon Foundation

E-mail
cc@ps.nippon-foundation.or.jp