Restoration of landmine-contaminated areas and developing relationships with local people

For many years Yamanashi Hitachi Construction Machinery has been contributing to the demining effort by developing demining equipment, shipping it to countries severely affected by landmines, providing training in the operation of demining equipment as well as offering other forms of assistance. In fiscal 2008, a new model of demining equipment, the BM307-FV30, was shipped to Cambodia. This new model is a flail hammer. It has superior resistance to explosions and moves forward while hitting the ground with hammers, which detonates buried landmines. Additionally, the flail hammers have been given increased durability. These features distinguish this model from other conventional demining equipment and allows it to be operated over extreme ground conditions. The Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC) has given the new model a high assessment for its safety features, demining capability, and ability to be used under a wide variety of conditions.

Sixteen years have past since I began working on the development of demining equipment. During this period, I had many opportunities to go see the minefields in Cambodia, Angola and elsewhere, as well as to spend time with the local children. In Japan, I have been giving lectures to children so that they learn about the state of mined land. I visited 68 elementary schools and middle schools throughout Japan in fiscal 2008. I have helped both Japanese children and children living in areas with landmines to exchange pictures they have drawn in order to build friendships between them. This is another one of my important roles.