Quake-Hit Schools Resume Classes in Hokkaido Towns

September 18, 2018

Mukawa, Hokkaido- Twelve elementary, junior high and high schools in the towns of Atsuma, Mukawa and Abira in Hokkaido resumed classes on Tuesday after closing due to the Sept. 6 earthquake that rocked the northern Japan prefecture.

Some 1,070 students returned to these schools.

School routes were confirmed to be safe and water supply at the schools has been secured, according to local governments.

All schools in Hokkaido that were forced by the 6.7-magnitude temblor to close have now resumed classes.

At Mukawa Chuo Elementary School, which has 200 students, some children ran up to their teachers, saying, "Good morning," while others gave their friends big hugs, asking, "How have you been?"

"I'm happy to see you come to school with so much energy," Tatsuya Okuma, principal at the school, said to the students at a morning assembly. "I thank you for that."

"You may have worries, but please remember that I and other teachers are with you," Okuma said.

As the building of Miyato Elementary School in Mukawa has been damaged severely, all of some 20 students of this school take classes at Mukawa Chuo Elementary School.

The Mukawa municipal government will have school counsellors make the rounds of schools in the town to provide students with psychological care.

At elementary and junior high schools in Atsuma, the start time is pushed back by about one hour because 45 students are staying at distant shelters.

Also in Atsuma, schools whose gymnasiums have been turned into evacuation centers plan to give physical education classes outdoors. Bottled water is prepared at schools where tap water is still not clean enough for drinking.

According to the Hokkaido prefectural government, 134 people are staying at shelters in Mukawa, 826 in Atsuma and 96 in Abira. Jiji Press