The human resource development and training courses on radiation emergency medicine at NIRS

National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS) is the only institution in Japan that has been dedicated to comprehensive scientific research for radiation and human health, and NIRS has been also designated as the tertiary level hospital as well as the national center of radiation emergency medicine in this country. NIRS has conducted a number of domestic training courses on radiation-protection, -measurement, and -emergency medicine since 1960\u27s. Furthermore, NIRS has introduced these training courses and workshops for experts in Asian countries since 2001, in collaboration with international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In Japan, the radiation emergency medical response system has been established in 19 prefectures with nuclear facilities; the education and training are provided to personnel in these prefectures. NIRS has accepted personnel from any local government to its training courses regardless of having nuclear facilities. Experiences of response to the accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (NPP) in 2011 revealed that, knowledge of radiation is required for health care providers and first responders in local governments all over Japan. Here, we report details on the training courses for radiation emergency medicine that were carried out at NIRS