ゆりかご公表から４年 大学を卒業　宮津 航一さん 新たな出発【熊本】 (26/03/25 19:00)

Koichi Miyazu of Kumamoto City. Four years ago, he publicly revealed that he was a child left at a "stork's cradle," also known as a baby hatch. He recently graduated from university. We followed Koichi's journey to this new beginning. It was the morning of his graduation ceremony. In the living room of his office/home, which he had just moved into in February, there was a photograph of his birth mother, the woman who gave birth to him. [Koichi Miyazu (22)] "I think she's always watching over me from heaven, so I don't really say anything to her in particular." Q: Is she always in your heart? "Yes." [Departure Address by President Hiroaki Tsutsumi] "Many of you graduating today entered this university in 2022." In the spring of 2022, Koichi publicly revealed his background. [April 2022 - Koichi (18)] "These are the shoes I was wearing when I was left here." Koichi was left at the Stork's Cradle in May 2007. Koichi was welcomed into the Miyazu family without knowing his true identity. [April 2022 - Midori Miyazu] "Even if he hadn't been left at the cradle, we had already decided to take him in, so we wanted to raise him with love. We bathed together, slept together as a family of three, and were together from morning till night, so he quickly became attached to us and started to be affectionate." Later, when the Miyazu family learned about Koichi's biological parents, they told him without hiding anything. [April 2022 - Koichi (18)] "When I found out about my mother's existence, I also learned that she had died in a traffic accident. I didn't feel much sadness about that; rather, I was happy to learn about my origins, to know about my mother's existence. I felt a stronger sense of relief that I knew." Koichi grew up alongside the Miyazu couple's biological children and other children they raised. In his second year of high school, Koichi was formally adopted by the Miyazu couple, becoming their son. [April 2022 - Koichi (18)] "I'm grateful that they entrusted me to the 'Yurigoko' (childcare center), and I'm glad they did because it's the reason I have the life I have today. I want not only me, but all the children entrusted to 'Yurigoko' to grow up happily." Koichi has been running a children's cafeteria since his third year of high school. [April 2022 - Koichi (18)] "My parents (the Miyazu couple) had been doing volunteer work for a long time, so it felt natural to me. Seeing them, I thought, 'That's so cool.' I felt that it was necessary to actually speak up and take action." Koichi, now a university student, began even more new activities. [October 2023 Press Conference - Koichi (19)] "Today, October 10th, we established the Kumamoto Children's University." He established a corporation with Yukiko Tajiri, the then-Chief Nurse of Jikei Hospital, who was the first to hold Koichi when he was entrusted to the 'Cradle,' and started the 'Kumamoto Children's University.' It is held twice a year, and five sessions have been held by March. [March 15th, 5th Kumamoto Children's University, Kyushu Lutheran College: Koichi] "I was saved because of the 'baby cradle.' I want many people to know about this, so I'm delivering this message. There are 192 other children besides me who were placed in the baby cradle. I'm sure there are some close to you. I want people to interact with them naturally, without labeling them as 'children without parents.'" [Participating Children] "I think it's difficult and takes courage to talk about one's upbringing, but I thought it was wonderful that he's trying so hard to make it public for everyone." This is Koichi on a weekday, attending classes as a student in the Faculty of Integrated Management. [Professor Hiromitsu Miyazono, Faculty of Integrated Management] "The Faculty of Integrated Management at Kumamoto Prefectural University has a lot of fieldwork outside the home, and I think students are having wonderful experiences going out into the world, which I believe has a positive influence on other students." [February 21st, Tamana Civic Hall] [Koichi's Lecture] "There are still countless cases of babies being abandoned in the mountains and forests. But society should be more understanding of those who chose not to do that, came all the way to Kumamoto, and entrusted their lives to the 'baby cradle,' fulfilling that role. Blaming those who entrusted their babies won't change anything. We must consider why we couldn't be a point of contact for them, why we couldn't be a lifeline, otherwise we won't be able to create a society where baby cradles are unnecessary." Koichi, who has come to be known as a 'university student speaker,' has given a total of 177 lectures both inside and outside the prefecture over the past four years. On this day, in addition to his lecture, he participated in a symposium with his parents. How did Koichi become integrated into the Miyazu family? [Koichi (22)] "Instead of going to school club activities by bicycle, my father would give me a ri...