Internship Immersed in Diverse Cultures

Takaho Nakahashi,

School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine,

Saga University

Applying for an Internship 

I am a medical student. I spent one month during the spring break of my university doing an internship at the Medical Governance Research Institute in Tokyo. The trigger was when I visited the website of the institute. There, I saw vivid descriptions of students who had previously interned, diving into worlds unknown to me and deepening their learning. At the time, my life was mostly occupied by academics and club activities, and I felt my growth slowing. Despite having no connections to the institute, I applied on a whim. During my internship, I had the opportunity to meet a wide range of people including local politicians, business leaders, and national politicians from my hometown of Saga, and visited Narita, Fukushima, and Iwaki cities for the first time, greatly expanding my perspective.

Learning About the Sanrizuka Struggle

The most memorable experience was my visit to Narita City, Chiba Prefecture, in early March. Narita is home to Narita International Airport, Japan's air gateway. I was embarrassingly unaware of the Sanrizuka Struggle, an anti-airport construction movement that occurred during the airport's construction. My interest was sparked by attending a dinner with local Narita city council members, including Mr. Takaaki Utsunomiya, introduced by Dr. Masahiro Kami, the president of the Medical Governance Research Institute. It was then that I first learned about the Sanrizuka Struggle. I later deepened my understanding by reading manga themed around the struggle. I was shocked to learn that it was a fierce conflict that resulted in deaths and that some of the opponents of the airport still live on land right next to the runway. However, when I actually visited Narita City, it did not have a dangerous atmosphere; it was a peaceful town where nature and airplanes coexisted harmoniously. At the "Sky and Earth History Museum" near the airport, I saw helmets used at the time, watched historical footage, and read the suicide note of a young man who killed himself during the struggle, which made the conflict feel intensely real. Furthermore, thanks to Mr. Utsunomiya, I was even guided to the home of a farming family opposing the airport. The house stood alone as planes landing every few minutes seemed to almost touch the branches of trees in their garden, and the noise was deafening. Mr. Utsunomiya, who comes from the airport corporation background, must have had a hard time building such a relationship, and he encouraged the farmers by saying, "Farming is important. It's what people eat."

Path to Becoming a Doctor 

My clinical internships will start soon, but much of my university studies thus far have been two-dimensional. At my university, most classes were conducted online, both during the COVID-19 pandemic and after the transition to a new system. I watched preparatory school lectures to keep up with my classmates in preparing for the exams. If I had not applied for the internship, I would probably have been watching lecture videos at home to prepare for clinical internships and national examinations. As a student with no work experience as a doctor and no clinical internship experience, I'm honestly not sure what is the right thing to do to become a doctor or if my choices have been correct. I may regret this in the future. However, the internship definitely contributed to my experiences by exposing me to different cultures. I cherish the gratitude I feel towards the people I met during the internship and those around me who supported me, and I want to continue learning.

* This article has been reprinted and translated from the Japanese original text published in Web Medical Times.20240327.