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The Mitsui & Co. Environment Fund

Introduction to Grant Projects

Nonaka Masanori, Dean of Graduate School for Management and Technology, Niigata University, National university corporation

Research on area rehabilitation and regeneration from radioactive material by means of recycling-orientated agriculture in areas of Nakadori and Hamadori, Fukushima Prefecture

Research grant

Project Description

Study on radiation dose estimation for safe farming in Nihonmatsu City, Towa-Cho; Iitate Village and Minamisoma City in Fukushima Prefecture. This project is striving for a sustained reconstructive process to aid local recovery and regeneration, with the aim of helping the renewal of farmer's and their desire to return to the area. The research on the recovery of communities is based on safe environmentally friendly recycling agriculture done by independent farmers, and researchers from Niigata, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Yokohama National University, and Tohoku University are working with these local farmers to implement contributions to this recovery. The research includes radioactivity reduction in forests, farm land, water and crops, resource recycling, and resource recycling-orientated agriculture.

Grant year
FY14/3 Research Grants
Grant term
3 years
April 2015 - March 2018
Grant amount
17,940,000 yen
Activity region
Odaka district, Ota district, Minamisoma City in Haramachi-ku, Outer and inner district of Iitate Village, Towa District in Nihonmatsu-shi, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan
30 year old mulberry trees excavated for measuring survey of radioactive materials

Overview of the Organization

Dean of Faculty and Professor Nonaka Masanori
Representative
Dean of Faculty and Professor Nonaka Masanori
Profile
  • Specialist recovery
    Nihon Yuki Nogyo Gakkai·Pedology
  • Affiliated academic societies
    Nihon Yuki Nogyo Gakkai
  • Background
    July 1984 Entered the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences and completed part-way of a PhD
    May 1987 Obtained a PhD in Agriculture from University of Tokyo
    August 1987 Assistant within the Faculty of Agriculture at Niigata University
    January 1996 Assistant Professor within the Faculty of Agriculture at Niigata University
    April 2006 Professor within the Graduate School for Management of Technology at Niigata University, holding the post at both the Department of Agriculture and Graduate School of Science and Technology
    October 2010 Became Head of the Office for Environment and Safety (Ongoing)
    April 2012 Became Head of the Graduate School for Management of Technology at Niigata University (Ongoing)
    2013 Began advising Koriyama City regarding agricultural promotion, became a part time lecturer at Fukushima University (Ongoing)
    April 2014 Started as Niigata University's Environmental Administrator (Ongoing)
WEB site
http://www.niigata-u.ac.jp/
Collaborating organizations
NPO organization NPO Council Yuki no Touwa Furusato Tsukuri, Iitate Village and outer area, Minami Soma City Agricultural Land Regeneration Council
Research record
  • Since May 2011, participated in the Yuki no Touwa project, and from April 2012, started reconstruction research as a representative from the Mitsui Environmental Fund (reconstruction research grant) on "A proposal of measures to reduce radiocesium and its movement from undeveloped woodland to water, agricultural soil, produce, and food." In May 2012, began agricultural reconstruction research in Minamisoma City with a discretionary grant from Niigata University's President. After this, began investigatory research into the requests from farmers in outer and inner districts of Iitate village district, which began from August 2013.
  • Soil radiocesium distribution in rice fields disturbed by farming process after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, Naoki Harada, Masanori Nonaka, Science of the Total Environment, Vol.438, pp.242-247, 2012
  • Hiroshi ARITA, Hashimoto SATORI, Natsuki YOSHIKAWA, Naoki HARADA, Tetsuo HODAKA, Masami NONAKA, Yumi IWASAKI, Susumu MIYAZU. "Radiocesium decontamination and strategic agricultural land conservation." A Collection by The Japanese Society of Irrigation, Drainage and Rural Engineering, No.282, pp.91-97, 2012
  • Natsuki YOSHIKAWA, Hitomi OBARA, Marie OGASA, Susumu MIYAZU, Naoki HARADA, Masanori NONAKA,"137Cs in irrigation water and its effect on paddy fields in Japan after the Fukushima nuclear accident Science of the Total Environment." 2014