Mr. Haruo Obata, a famous volunteer in Japan, is preparing to attend a evening secondary school in Oita prefecture at the age of 86.
Mr. Obata will become a student of the first evening secondary school opened in this province. Sharing about his decision, he said that life is a continuous learning process and expressed his excitement to return to school.
Born into a poor family with 7 siblings, Mr. Obata had to drop out of school early to work on the farm from 5th grade. Working during the day, making zōri sandals at night, he was almost unable to attend lower secondary school until the end of the program.
After that, he spent about 10 years learning the trade in many places such as Shimonoseki and Kobe to become a fish trader, according to his sister's advice. He used to work as a construction worker in Tokyo to accumulate capital, before returning to Oita to open a fish shop and maintain this business for 37 years.
His volunteer spirit began at the age of 50, when he participated in maintaining trails on Mount Yufu. After closing the store at the age of 65, he switched to full-time volunteering. He said he wanted to contribute to society after receiving the support of many people during his business.
Mr. Obata participated in relief after many major disasters, starting from the 2004 earthquake in Niigata. He continued to operate in areas affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disasters in northeastern Japan, the 2016 earthquake in Kumamoto and the 2018 floods in the west.
After the 2011 disaster, he spent about 500 days at Minamisanriku leading a team to search for lost artifacts in the rubble for the people. In 2018, he became more widely known when he found a missing boy in the mountains in Suo-Oshima town.
He is still actively involved in community activities. Recently, he supported the search for property for people after a major fire in Oita and continued to repair trails on Mount Yufu.
He said that he had cherished learning since childhood, and could only go to school on rainy days because he did not have to work. When he learned about the evening program, he decided to register immediately and was curious to know what he would learn at this age.
