President Yamazaki New Year’s Greetings for 2026

At the beginning of 2026, I would like to look back on F-REI's activities last year and renew my determination to make a few points in the new year.  It is about to enter its fourth year since it was established here in Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture in April of 2023.  During this period, we have been promoting a variety of initiatives aimed at the creative reconstruction of Fukushima and other Tohoku regions, facing local issues and opening up the future ahead.

In April last year, we integrated the Fukushima Robot Test Field (RTF) into F-REI.  In addition, part of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency's (JAEA) Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science (CLADS) and part of Fukushima Collaborative Research Center of the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) were also integrated into F-REI, and together with the Radiation Ecology Unit integrated from National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST) at the time of its establishment, it was restarted as Regional Environmental Co-creation Unit. 　The development of research organizations in each research area has begun to accelerate and comprehensively coordinate, and as of January 1 this year, the number of researchers in 16 research units has reached 93. At the same time, the administrative and professional organizations that support research activities have been steadily developed, and the total number of people has reached 189.　In the future, we plan to establish research engineer groups specializing in specialized fields in 5~6 areas.

　Also in April last year, we held a symposium to commemorate the 2nd anniversary of F-REI to coincide with the groundbreaking ceremony of this facility, and we were able to look back on our activities so far and widely share our future prospects with our stakeholders.   In order to enhance the effectiveness of efforts through wide-area cooperation with F-REI and institutions that have bases in the Hamadori area of Fukushima Prefecture for the promotion of education, science, culture, etc., we have also established a loose network called "F-TOMO" to provide mutual assistance for these activities. 

In May, we exhibited at the Osaka-Kansai Expo, where we were able to introduce F-REI's future image and initiatives in anime, allowing visitors to see the future forests, towns, and research institutes created by F-REI's research. A total of more than 10,000 people visited the venue, and we were able to finish the exhibition with great success.

In October, RTF held the "WRS 2025 Harsh Environment F-REI Challenge".  Thirty-four teams from domestic and foreign research institutions and companies, including eight teams from overseas, participated in four events, including the Drone Challenge using the main base in Minamisoma and the Namie runway, and the Plant Disaster Challenge using simulated plants and tunnels, and a heated battle unfolded. 

In R&D, which is an important function of F-REI, we conduct more than 50 commissioned research projects in five research areas, and as I mentioned earlier, we also counted 16 research units of in-house research systems. We plan to continue to secure new unit leaders and develop systems for established units to further enhance our expertise, strengthen cross-disciplinary collaboration between researchers, and strategically and systematically enhance in-house R&D.  The medium- to long-term dispatch of young researchers to overseas research institutions is part of this process.

In order to promote effective wide-area collaboration with diverse entities, we will continue to hold F-REI roundtable discussions and industry-academia-government network seminars to convey the contents of F-REI's research and development to local industry stakeholders through dialogue, and to disseminate it as a place to build a network with an eye on industrialization and social implementation.  In addition, we will actively promote the conclusion of basic agreements on cooperation with relevant organizations in Japan and overseas.  Through these efforts, we will return research results to the local community and actively and effectively contribute to the economic revitalization of Fukushima as a whole.

  As part of human resource development, we will also hold top seminars and on-site classes by F-REI executives to convey the appeal of science and the rewarding as a researcher, thereby building a system to train researchers and engineers in various fields.   We will provide elementary and junior high school students with a variety of opportunities to experience science and technology in science laboratories, and high school and university students with opportunities to conduct research experiences to become future researchers at summer schools, and will also work to develop human resources for the young generation who will lead the future of the region.

On the other hand, the construction of the F-REI main facility, which began in earnest after the groundbreaking ceremony in April last year, will continue to accelerate in the future.   Headquarters Building, Research Support Building, Research and Experiment Building、Intrinsic Experiment Building equipped with special equipment such as accelerators and Short-term Accommodation Building will be developed sequentially over the next five years.   In particular, the plan to develop  accelerators (cyclotrons), which are important as large-scale research facilities, AI-based automated experimental facilities and common equipment (core facilities) will come to an end.   We must also urgently develop information infrastructure, such as HPC (high-performance computing), which is essential for the use of AI.   In conjunction with the development in front of JR Namie Station, which is being advanced, we will strive to create an attractive R&D environment that will lead to the accumulation of outstanding researchers and companies in Japan and abroad.   Along with the development of the housing environment promoted by the private sector, we will be involved in community development together with local people with the cooperation of local governments, and aim to create a community of Hamadori that is  familiar to local people.

Last year, we set out F-REI's mission "Create a bright future from Fukushima," as well as our immediate and medium- to long-term vision, as well as our values, and announced them both domestically and internationally.   In particular, values are the five powers that each member of F-REI acts with the awareness that they are the driving force that drives F-REI: the ability to take action to shape the future, the ability to tackle challenges unbounded by convention, the ability to embrace diversity and collaborate with others, the ability to engage in open dialogue, and the ability to win the trust of local commuinity.

With the awareness that each of us F-REI staff members is a representative of the F-REI signboard, we will value taking action on our own, conscious of connecting research results to impactful innovation (social implementation).

Of the FY2026 government budget proposal approved by the Cabinet at the end of last year, a total of 19.96 billion yen, an increase of 3.44 billion yen from the previous year, was secured as an F-REI-related budget.   In particular, R&D was 10.53 billion yen, an increase of 100 million yen from the previous fiscal year, and facility maintenance expenses were 6.85 billion yen.   Next year, the first phase of construction section is also scheduled to start hammering.

F-REI will steadily accumulate results through various approaches and strive for further growth in 2026 in order to realize the creative reconstruction of Fukushima and Tohoku.   Outreach is not just about raising awareness, but we are at a stage where we need to firmly promote the research results that are gradually starting to emerge.    Since each research unit is dispersed throughout the country, I think we must also focus on exchanges and cooperation among researchers.  In this sense, it is expected that we will face new difficulties with different phases than before.   At the beginning of the year, we will renew our resolve together with our members and continue to take on challenges to realize a creative future.   We ask for your continued support and cooperation.

　 I would like to wish you all good health and good luck, and I would like to send you a New Year's greeting.