It's been revealed that AKB48 Team 4's Iwata Karen (14) will become the navigator for NHK's disaster support program, 'Ashita e 1min: Karen no Fukkou Calendar'.

"We should never forget what happened on 3.11. Through the messages of the people of my hometown, I hope to deliver what I experienced when I was 13-years-old to people nationwide. I will do my best to make it a calendar of hope for recovery. I hope that the people in my hometown will smile even if it's just for 1 minute," she expressed.

Iwata is currently in her 2nd year of junior high school, and is originally from Sendai, Miyagi. After experiencing the devastating earthquake and tsunami, Iwata and her family lived in a refuge home for a short while. In April of last year, Iwata passed the selection examination to become an AKB48�Research Student, and moved out to Tokyo.

Iwata was hesitant on moving because of the disasters. However, her mother persuaded her saying, "There is much more you can do for the disaster-stricken areas by entering AKB." Last December, Iwata was chosen to voice act for AKB48's anime, 'AKB0048', and earlier in March, she was promoted to Team 4, making her the youngest member in the group. She also participated NHK's support song "Hana wa Saku" (released in May), and sang a solo for its coupling track.

In this program, Iwata will introduce entries from "Genchihatsu! Ashita e Blog", which is a blog site that is updated by residents of disaster-stricken areas. It will be a 1 minute program that will show the day-to-day lives of disaster victims that aren't usually picked up by other media outlets.

On July 21st, NHK will air a 15-minute special called 'Karen no Fukkou Calendar: Kick-off Special'. While delivering the lifestyle of the bloggers, Iwata will share her own experiences from the disaster and how she's been supporting the disaster areas since she entered AKB48.

'Ashita e 1min' will broadcast every Mondays from 7:56 pm starting in late-August.

Source & Image: Oricon via Yahoo! Japan