Name: Ryugi YOKOTA

Age: 29

(Age 16 in March 2011)

Birthplace: Kawauchi Village

Home address: Tokyo

Occupation: Actor

(High school freshman in March 2011)

‘Heart’

① I practiced boxing for 11 years, from pre-school to my freshman year in high school, and went to my gym in Iwaki every Wednesday with my mom. I went to the Futaba Shoyo High School in Okuma because they had a boxing club there. What had been 20 students in Kawauchi, was suddenly more than a 100 at the high school, but I didn’t want to lose to my classmates.

② As I was sleeping under the kotatsu table, the shaking started with a loud bang as if the ground itself was falling. At first, I had no idea what was going on. For a second, hiding under the table I thought, “I might die.” I felt like it was surprisingly easy to stay calm under the possibility of dying.

③ Seeing a lot of news about the nuclear reactor, and finally hearing about the hydrogen explosion, my dad said: “We’re getting out of here!” I honestly still wasn’t quite sure what was going on. “What’s a hydrogen explosion? What’s an explosion to begin with?”

④ The day after we evacuated I started looking for a part-time job. “There’s no way I can go to school like this,” I thought. I had to earn money, so I went for some interviews, and spent the remainder of March doing part-time work.

⑤ I had no intention of going to high school anymore, but my parents said: “At least go to high school. You don’t have to work this hard yet,” which made me decide to at least finish high school, so I entered a high school in Hadano City. The classmates there all took an interest in me, and were all really kind.

⑥ I had always had a dream of becoming ‘KAMEN Rider.’ But I had given up on it, thinking it would never work out, and I should let it go. So, I started looking for more normal jobs. But then I thought: “My parents have been supporting me all this time. If I become famous, I may do something that makes a difference in someone’s life.”

⑦ After entering show-business, I decided not to bring up my experience of the disaster during work. I felt like talking about it would only bring people down, and nobody could really relate anyway.

⑧ As a hometown ambassador of Kawauchi village, I want to share with the world what makes Kawauchi Town so special. By sharing things about Kawauchi that I like on social media, I hope people will get to know it a little bit. It’s a great place to go when you’re tired. You can forget about the time, and just relax!

CAPTION

・Boxing gloves from the time Yokota was in the Boxing Club as a freshman at Futaba Shoyo High School. The gloves – given by his father – hold sentimental value, and make it clear who the owner is with big letters saying RYUGI.

・Textbooks and folders using by Yokota during class. The textbook has a lot of notes written in it, and the folder the results of a mini test among other documents.

・These are some of Yokota’s private possessions, which were left in his locker for 13 years. The students had cleared out the classroom and their desks, because on March 11^th the classroom was used for a high school entrance exam.There are materials from his desk, as well as things that he usually put in his locker.