Preserving disaster remains does not always mean inheriting memories of disasters. Without long-term preservation and sustainable utilization of disaster remains, we cannot hand down the stories of disasters to the future generations. Keeping this in mind, a breakout session “Disaster Remains and Passing-on of Memories” was held in the “2020 International Forum on Telling Live Lessons from Disasters,” to grasp the trends of disaster remains inside and outside Japan. The discussions in the breakout session have put a spotlight on the important role of the “mediator” in sustainable utilization of disaster remains. With reference to the reports presented by the speakers at the breakout session, the objective of this study is to discuss the role of the “mediator” in sustainable utilization of disaster remains. The role of the “mediator” has been found to include a role of encouraging the preservation of disaster remains and a role of digging up buried memories.

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