What we are thinking now: Bringing new charm and vitality back to our hometown

I graduated from Fukushima University and joined Futaba three years ago. Before joining the company, I had the image of civil engineering as something that involved doing earthy work. However, I was surprised by the breadth of my work, which involves not only active on-site work but also deskwork such as design and data processing. I'm currently in the design department, where I'm involved in road restoration in areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and in areas where evacuation orders have not yet been lifted. I've also experienced a wide range of other tasks, including inspecting bridges and water storage facilities that supply water to rice fields. Nearly 10 years have passed since the disaster, and while there are areas where people are living as if the earthquake and nuclear accident never happened, there are also areas where roads have not been restored and areas where it is difficult to return. Seeing these scenes sometimes makes me sad, thinking, "The disaster is not over," but I also believe that it is people like me who are supporting the restoration of roads and the reconstruction of cities, and that it is our infrastructure that brings people back to the city. I feel a sense of responsibility and pride in being able to do this kind of work. I had the opportunity to travel along the coast of Fukushima Prefecture for work and see the various situations there, but I don't think I would have been able to see these situations if I hadn't joined Futaba.

In the future, I think it's important to create an environment where people who have left their hometowns can return and live again. I think that creating a nostalgic yet new town where people can naturally return is what "Futaba" was named after. Rather than simply restoring the town, I want to create a town that is attractive to new people who move here, so that they will think, "I want to come back, I want to live here."