The Great East Japan Earthquake occurred in 2011, and communities in the affected areas were destroyed. The ensuing isolation of refugees remains a big issue even today. In this research, we focus on an exercise class targeted at promoting communication between refugees and local residents and aim to determine the structure of an ideal exercise class intended to support refugees by analyzing qualitatively the results of semi-structured interviews conducted with 10 middle-aged people who took refuge in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture, after the earthquake.
We interviewed 4 male and 6 female middle-aged refugees, and selected and analyzed 76 stories of all the stories that emerged during the interviews. Based on the analysis results, we classified the meanings attached, by the respondents, to participating in an exercise class as follows: (1) Temporary escape from reality, (2) Physical activities, (3) Meetings and connecting with other people, (4) Part of daily life, (5) Passing time, (6) Motive to change, and (7) A source of entertainment.
We thus conclude that participating in the exercise class promoted refugeesʼ psychological and physical wellbeing.
We consider it necessary to construct various processes and incorporate them into the management of an exercise class for refugees, taking into consideration their inputs.
