News

On September 20, a dedication ceremony was held to commemorate the reopening of the Tohoku University Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Field Science Center's Integrated Marine Field Station (Onagawa Field Center) which was destroyed in the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011.

Onagawa, the facility's location, is a coastal town located approximately 60 kilometers northeast of Sendai in an area where warm and cold currents intersects, offers one of the world's richest fishery location and enjoys a rich fishery industry. Originally, the Onagawa Field Center was established in 1933 as the Marine Fisheries Research and Development Center of the Graduate School of Science at the Tohoku Imperial University. For 80 years, this location has been educating students and contributing to research and development for the Japanese fishery industry.

Onagawa was extensively damaged in the Great East Japan Earthquake where 70% of the houses were destroyed by the tsunami and 10% of the total population lost their lives. The Center's research center and housing buildings were completely destroyed, losing all equipment and research data.

The new facility, rebuilt as a five-story reinforced concrete building with an elliptical shape designed to withstand large tsunamis, contains a laboratory and an experimental breeding room as well as student dormitories and living quarters for researchers. This facility will continue to be used in field research related to conservation and fishery production within the coastal ecosystem and will serve as a base for the Tohoku University-led "Tohoku Ecosystem-Associated Marine Sciences" project.

Rebuilt in the same location four years after the disaster with a strong, 81-year bond with Onagawa, this facility will contribute to the reconstruction of the Tohoku Region and Japan's rebirth through education and research.

Contact:

Tohoku University
Public Relations Department
Tel: +81-22-217-4977
Email: public_relationsgrp.tohoku.ac.jp