Fukushima reaches California

Yesterday, I had the great honour of presenting my work and speaking at two universities in the LA area (INFO).

In the morning, I was invited by Chapman University's Dr. Alex Bay to speak to the students in his Japanese history class that examines medicine and the body in East Asia.  The students asked fascinating questions about what the people living in Fukushima are facing within the context of what they were learning about the treatment of lepers in Japan and the discrimination of victims of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The beautiful Chapman University campus

Presenting to Dr. Bay's class

In the afternoon, I had the honour of visiting the University of California at Irvine (UCI) where I made two presentations of my work.  Sponsored by Families For Safe Energy (FFSE WEBSITE) and the Sustainability Initiative at UCI, the first of the two events was a seminar attended by Japanese studies department students of Professors Jim Fuji and Judith Kimura.

photo by U.g. Kaneko

In the evening, following a wonderful introduction by Beverly Kaneko from FFSE, I made a two and a half hour presentation to an audience of students from Dr. John Whitely's 'Nuclear Environments' class, students from the Japanese studies department, and members of the public.  The lively discussion between screening sections of 'A2-B-C' (WEBSITE) was a challenging and amazing experience!

photo by U.g. Kaneko

photo by U.g. Kaneko

I am so grateful to have had this enlightening time filled with wonderful experiences in LA.

Tomorrow, I leave for San Francisco where the West Coast Premier of 'A2-B-C' will be held in the United Nations Association Film Festival on Thursday (INFO).