福島ダイアログ　Fukushima Dialogue

NPO法人福島ダイアログは、2019年に法人化された福島県内の原発事故被災地で活動する団体です。

2011年の事故後、国際放射線防護委員会（ICRP）が継続開催してきた対話集会を引き継ぎ、現在までに24回の対話集会を開催してきました。
これまでの成果は、国外へも広く伝えられ、国際的にも高く評価されています。
NPO Fukushima Dialogue is an organisation working in the nuclear-affected areas in Fukushima.

The 27th Fukushima Dialogue, titled “Thoughts on Hometowns – Where Have We Come From, and Where Are We Going? Voices from Fukushima,” will take place over two days on Saturday, December 6 and Sunday, December 7, 2025, in Ōkuma Town, Fukushima Prefecture. Since 2011, dialogue meetings have been held regularly with Fukushima residents and stakeholders. We are asking for your support this year to ensure the sustainability of this initiative.

Weaving the Voices of Fukushima – Support the 27th Dialogue this Year

Support for Dialogue Operations (Interpretation, Babysitting & Other Services)

事務局担当の門馬です。ご不明な点があればお気軽にご質問ください。

We are pleased to share that the endorsement from Ōkuma Town has been confirmed, and eight participants for the second-day Dialogue have now been finalized. With these important developments, preparations for the 27th Fukushima Dialogue are moving forward step by step.We deeply appreciate your continued encouragement and warm support. Please stay with us as we move toward welcoming everyone to the Dialogue in December.The English version of the program is now available — please take a look to see the details of the event.<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/syncable-app/upload/878633e5-7d77-45e5-ac76-d4ac0e9ce405.jpg"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/syncable-app/upload/e3fba047-7f2a-4628-886c-77457c9bedb5.jpg"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/syncable-app/upload/e04240da-20df-4a82-b415-413c9f8a8a6a.jpg">

Preparations Are Steadily Progressing

<h3>What is a Daruma? </h3>The Daruma is one of Japan’s most iconic symbols of perseverance and good fortune. Its origins go back to Bodhidharma, the Buddhist monk who founded Zen. Legend says he meditated for nine years until his arms and legs withered away—hence the doll’s round, limbless shape. Daruma dolls first spread in Japan during the Edo period. Because they always return to an upright position when tipped over, they came to embody the saying “fall down seven times, get up eight.” Today, people paint in one eye when making a wish, and fill in the other when it comes true. Found in many regions with unique local styles, Daruma remain a powerful symbol of resilience and hope across Japan. <h3>Futaba Daruma: Reviving a Town’s Tradition </h3>Like many other regions of Japan, Futaba Town in Fukushima Prefecture has long held a New Year’s Daruma market, with roots dating back to the Edo period. However, unlike other towns, Futaba once had no local Daruma of its own. About 30 years ago, the Women’s Division of JA Fukushima Sakura in Futaba established a Daruma group, designing and creating the original Futaba Daruma. Today, the Futaba Daruma Market is a lively New Year’s tradition widely known throughout Fukushima Prefecture, and these handmade Daruma dolls have become indispensable to the local community. In 2012, the year following the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Futaba Daruma Market—normally held on the second Saturday and Sunday of January—could not take place due to the town’s full evacuation. Yet, encouraged by the voices of people who still wished for Daruma, local women and other residents gradually came together. By 2013, they had resumed making Daruma and, though held outside the town, managed to organize the Futaba Daruma Market again. In 2022, part of Futaba Town was designated as a Special Reconstruction and Revitalization Zone and the evacuation order was lifted. In January 2023, twelve years after the disaster, the Daruma Market finally returned to its original home in Futaba. Looking ahead to the next Futaba Daruma Market, scheduled for January 10–11, 2026, the workshop at JA Fukushima Sakura’s Izumi branch in Iwaki has already begun production in early September. We recently visited the workshop to see the process firsthand. <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/syncable-app/upload/df4029af-31c1-43c8-aa9b-935e60575840.jpg"> Daruma dolls before their faces and patterns are painted. Can you see how each one already has a slightly different expression? <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/syncable-app/upload/198c8899-b4de-4db5-8b34-f18e08fec6d0.jpg">The painting begins with positioning the eyes, drawn first in red pigment. Since each Daruma has slightly different features, deciding exactly where to place the eyes is said to be the most challenging part. <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/syncable-app/upload/eec35e01-f012-4fa0-9fb6-de203a42f016.jpg">The members of the Women’s Division divide roles among themselves—some outlining the eyes, others painting the patterns or facial features. With their practiced hands, the faces of the Daruma dolls take shape at an astonishing speed!<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/syncable-app/upload/11693edc-7fe4-4a4d-bd55-87a7cec6466d.jpg"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/syncable-app/upload/6e3e9e36-692c-4f53-ae13-24e44c562979.jpg">Almost every day, about 1,000 Daruma dolls are produced in time for the Daruma Market. They come in seven different colors and range in size from charming, round 8 cm dolls to large ones standing 65 cm tall—each with its own unique character. Did you find a favorite among them? Traditionally, one paints the left eye of a Daruma to make a wish, and only when that wish is fulfilled does one paint in the right eye, as an expression of gratitude. In this way, Daruma symbolize both the bond between maker and owner, and the connection between wishes and thankfulness. With hopes for the New Year and for recovery, the women of the JA Fukushima Sakura Futaba branch continue to carefully handcraft Futaba Daruma, day by day.

With Wishes and Gratitude: The Tradition of Futaba Daruma

We’re pleased to share the program that has been confirmed so far.We’re also in the process of arranging co-hosting and support from our partner organizations.<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/syncable-app/upload/2063588a-7d37-4508-a0c0-340e8dbfede2.jpg"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/syncable-app/upload/02a2d2d4-c460-4959-a5bc-3f9f433d98cf.jpg"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/syncable-app/upload/fa0d4d2b-c032-457e-a440-43034c826db7.jpg">

Preparing for the Fukushima Dialogue!

As the December Dialogue will include participants from Norway’s Sami region, we would like to share their story here.There are territories in Europe where humans have preserved their ancestral way of life. In Lapland, in the Far North, the Sami have been reindeer herders for millennia. They also practice fishing, hunting, and gathering—all nourishing activities offered by this wild nature, dotted with lakes and forests.But after the Chernobyl accident in April 26, 1986 much has changed. Norway has been one of the most contaminated countries in Western Europe. Mountainous areas have been the most affected. Almost no one lives there, but they play an important role as pastures for sheep, goats, and also reindeer. Environmental contamination means contamination of the food chain and, in the far north, lichen which is a curious plant, a combination of algae and fungus providing reindeer with 90% of their winter food, accumulated cesium from Chernobyl. As a consequence, in the fall of 1986, reindeer meat had a contamination rate well above the authorized marketing limit of 600 Bq/kg. In short, all herds had to be slaughtered since they had lost their market value. But livestock farming was essential to the Sami people; livestock farming is their culture.To preserve the market value of part of the herd, the Norwegian authorities decided to raise the marketing limit from 600 Bq/kg to 6000 Bq/kg. Rigorous sorting was therefore carried out at the time of slaughter. The animals were kept in pens and individually inspected.Raw or grilled, reindeer meat is the staple food of the Sami, who were faced with the problem of chronic radioactivity ingestion. Faced with the health risks to the Sami, the Norwegian authorities developed an original strategy based on individual monitoring and information.Each Sami was invited to undergo a &quot;body gamma ray&quot; test. The device detected the radiation emitted by the human body and deduced the contamination rate.The values was varying significantly from one person to another depending on the region of herding and eating habits. Each case was unique. There was no such thing as a typical, standard, average individual.As a Sami herder explained when he visited Fukushima to attend the Dialogue meeting held in Date city in February 2013 : “We take the time to discuss. We consider actions to reduce the contamination rate. The reindeer are fed with lichen from less contaminated areas... the meat is soaked and boiled, with some of the cesium leaching out with the water... reindeer meat is eaten only once a day, instead of twice, alternating with imported products, purchased with the help of state subsidies.” <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/syncable-app/upload/3db8793a-88a3-4e9d-8508-7e13c720c403.png"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/syncable-app/upload/e081ba68-5d31-4723-b9c8-853fc613edd9.png">The same Sami herder added at the occasion of the 30 years anniversary of the accident: ‘Today the pollution hardly affects me anymore. I know it is there but I focus on other things than the number of becquerels in my reindeers. After Chernobyl the authorities did not abandon us. We made a joint effort that enable us to overcome this difficult phase. If we had not made this effort, we would probably live another reality today. I am sure. We might even not be herders anymore.’ Developing a &quot;strategy&quot; took several years. It required the active participation of the population and close cooperation between public authorities, experts, and medics to manage the herders&#39; expectations, the multiple and sometimes contradictory messages from scientists, the uncertainties about the long-term effects of radiation, and finally to implement monitoring and assistance.Today, nearly 40 years after the disaster, Sami herders must maintain some vigilance but thanks to their tenacity, the effective cooperation with the authorities, and also to the solidarity shown by the entire Norwegian population, they have managed to maintain reindeer herding.

Weaving the Voices of Fukushima – Support the 27th Dialogue this Year

Preparations Are Steadily Progressing

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