海外ボランティア募集！大学生・高校生・社会人にオススメ。春休み夏休みも通年開催。

　I am writing about landmines. The reason is that some people envision conflicts as scenes of shooting each other with guns or invading enemy territory with tanks, but I wanted to raise awareness about the fact that around 5,000 people are affected by landmine incidents each year. And there is one more reason. I am living with international students in Japan. Recently, it was my birthday, and on that day, the international students celebrated my birthday. At that moment, I thought, 'Every day is someone's birthday, so let's put an end to wars and landmines forever. Let's create a world where we can celebrate someone's special day every day.' With such a sentiment, I chose to focus on landmines. Firstly, I will organize the characteristics of landmines and provide specific examples of the problems they cause. Afterward, I will discuss the current measures in place to address landmines and debate what support and actions are necessary from various actors to achieve complete landmine removal in the future.
　Many of the victims of landmines are civilians who have no direct connection to the warfare. Once buried during a conflict, landmines remain a threat even after the war has ended, unless they are cleared or triggered. As a result, people can fall victim to landmines while doing everyday activities such as shopping or walking near their homes. Originally, landmines were intended to incapacitate soldiers or disable their limbs. By reducing the number of enemy soldiers who can carry injured comrades to the hospital (typically requiring two to three people), landmines were considered a strategic advantage. However, this same curiosity-driven nature in children leads to devastating consequences, as their small bodies get torn apart by these explosive devices. Even if medical treatment is available, many children cannot afford it due to family poverty. Consequently, they end up abandoning school and losing social connections. This lack of education deprives children of future possibilities.
　Various initiatives are being undertaken worldwide to address the social problem of landmines. One of them is the Ottawa Treaty adopted in 1997 during the international conference in Canada. However, the number of signatory countries in Asia has significantly decreased. Surprisingly, East Asia has only one signatory country, Japan, which can be attributed to the fact that many Asian countries were using landmines when the Ottawa Treaty was adopted.
Scientific and technological advancements are also attracting attention. Notably, there is a person named Shigeo Hirose, a leading Japanese roboticist known for inventing numerous innovative robots. Among them, the ACM-R5 robot specialized in landmine removal has gained significant attention. This robot, resembling a snake, operates both on land and in water, and its slender and smooth movements are remarkable. While it has some operational challenges, it contributes to detecting landmines.
Support at the national level is essential, but specialized expertise and assistance from NGOs and various organizations are also key to solving this problem. It is the wars and civil conflicts that create situations where landmines are laid. Our true ultimate goal is the complete eradication of landmines and the establishment of a peaceful world without wars. To achieve this, it is crucial to raise our own sense of responsibility and engagement in this issue.