Fukushima: In Search of a Lost Future

Otomo Yoshihide.

Dr. Shin-Ichi Niwa.

Join us for a multi-disciplinary look at Fukushima today, which faced an unprecedented triple disaster on March 11, 2011—an earthquake, tsunami and the meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Starting with a documentary about a now-defunct, but beloved cultural center located just 15 miles from the nuclear power plant, the program delves deeper into some of the complex and daunting issues Fukushima faces through a dialogue between a musician and a psychiatrist, both actively involved in the area’s recovery.  
 
Otomo Yoshihide, a renowned composer and multi-instrumentalist, grew up in Fukushima and is a vocal force for the plight of the prefecture. Otomo, who provided the soundtrack and introduces the documentary ASAHIZA, will touch on his work in support of Fukushima. Dr. Shin-Ichi Niwa, a psychiatrist based in Fukushima, discusses the state of the mental healthcare in Fukushima. He is the Executive Administrator of the Fukushima Prefectural Hospitals Office and a member of the Board of Kokoro-no-Care Nagomi (KCN), a mental health clinic in Fukushima. In partnership with the Japanese Medical Society of America, KCN is supported with a grant from Japan Society’s Japan Earthquake Relief Fund.
 
The screening and discussion is followed by a reception.
 
During the reception, the photography series, A Body in Fukushima, conceived by the highly-acclaimed Butoh dancer Eiko and Japanese historian and photographer William Johnston, will be shown.
 
Tickets: $12/$9 Japan Society members, seniors & students.

ASAHIZA 人間は、どこへ行く(Asahiza, Ningen wa Doko he Iku). 2013, 74 min., Blu-ray, color, Japanese with English subtitles, directed by Hikaru Fujii. International premiere.