震災時小４生が成人式　福島・浪江町、５４人が決意

　東日本大震災から３月で１０年を迎える。東京電力福島第１原発事故により全町に避難指示が出された福島県浪江町では９日、成人式が開かれ、当時小学４年だった５４人が参加した。
　新成人を代表し、浪江地区出身の吉田あゆみさん（２０）が「度重なる苦難の中、ふるさとで成人式を迎えられてうれしく思う。これからは感謝を返していきたい」と決意を語った。
　吉田数博町長は「皆さんには素晴らしい才能と輝かしい未来がある。これからも『ふるさと浪江』を見守ってほしい」と式辞を述べた。新型コロナウイルス対策のため、参加者はマスクを着け、間隔を空けて着席した。
　請戸小学校出身の松本理奈さん（２０）は、宮城県に避難した後も、町内の伝統行事「田植え踊り」の踊り手を務めてきた。「幼なじみと何を話そうかずっと考えていた。コロナで不安もあったが、開催されて本当に良かった」と話した。（2021/01/09-17:34）

A coming-of-age ceremony was held on Saturday in a town hit by the severe accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power station almost 10 years ago.
   Fifty-four people, who were elementary school fourth-graders at the time of the March 2011 accident, attended the ceremony held in the town of Namie in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.
   "I feel happy that I was able to take part in this coming-of-age ceremony in my hometown although we are experiencing a host of difficult challenges," Ayumi Yoshida, 20, one of the new adults, said in a speech, showing her resolve to make contributions in return for the support she has obtained.
   In his congratulatory message, Namie Mayor Kazuhiro Yoshida said: "You are all gifted and have a bright future. I want you to keep watching your hometown Namie." To prevent infection with the novel coronavirus, participants wore face masks and sat apart from each other.
   An evacuation order was issued for the whole of the town following the nuclear accident, which resulted from the March 11, 2011, powerful earthquake and tsunami, which hit Fukushima and nearby prefectures hard.