Why the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster is a Man‐made Calamity

The Fukushima nuclear disaster caused by the earthquake on 11 March 2011 is a man‐made calamity because technological failures were derived from the failure of multiple social safeguards. The insufficient social safeguards can be explained by highlighting the “nuclear complex.” Institutional frameworks assured the enormous economic power of electric power companies and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). Using this power, the electric power companies effectively manipulated information, maintained strong political power and constructed the nuclear complex, which has imposed an overwhelming influence on the central sphere of control at a national level and has put economic profit before safety. Regulations for safety have not been insufficient because the organization charged with nuclear safety belongs to the nuclear complex. Consequently, Regulatory Guides concerning reactors defined by the government have not accounted for catastrophic accidents. Philosopher Mori Arimasa's concept of "binary combination" provides us with an insight into a profound sociological reason for the Fukushima nuclear disaster because it highlights the immaturity of subjectivity and the root of irresponsibility in Japanese society. Binary combination is defined as a relationship between two persons that is characterized by intimacy and a vertical relation. Binary combination tends to produce a group or organization that is closed to outsiders and often shows indifference as well as insensitivity to outside opinions. In order overcome the defects of energy policy as well as the decision‐making process, and to achieve a sustainable society, it is necessary to promote an energy paradigm shift and reforms for decision‐making through the enrichment of the public sphere.     

The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami: The highest casualties and largest reconstruction funds—Characteristics of major disasters and future challenges in developed countries

The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake was a disaster that led to the greatest number of casualties related to any form of natural disaster seen in developed countries since World War II. Furthermore, this earthquake occurred in an area where tsunami countermeasures had been prioritized. This disaster, therefore, led to the question “Is it impossible to reduce the number of victims of huge catastrophes, even in cases in which advanced disaster prevention measures have been taken?” Part of the reason this particular earthquake caused the largest number of deaths was because the tsunami that followed — which exceeded the “design load” of the seawall — hit the urban area. In addition, the tsunami, which also exceeded the “estimated loads” of the established disaster prevention plan, caused many “evacuation failures.” Another factor that contributed to the deaths was that the disaster prevention measures, up to that point, had relied primarily on the recognition that disasters could be prevented by the development of “hard,” or tangible, disaster prevention facilities in addition to “soft,” or intangible, measures, such as issuing warnings, without imposing space restrictions. Another characteristic of the Great East Japan Earthquake was that the largest reconstruction budget associated with any disaster in postwar Japan was compiled for it. Although the reconstruction project was over-specified for the disaster-afflicted area in terms of scale, cost, and duration of reconstruction, many unused land areas were also created in the new urban areas created during the reconstruction project. Furthermore, the reconstruction projects undertaken with the huge reconstruction budget were not based on the “choice to rebuild the lives” of the disaster-afflicted areas and the victims, but were rather implemented while simultaneously “marginalizing” said victims and areas as a whole. The over-specified reconstruction projects and the associated marginalization of disaster victims tend to exist in a mutually regulated relationship. Therefore, there are concerns about the future sustainability of the noted disaster-afflicted areas, which are already suffering from a severe population decline. Based on the previously presented discussion, it is possible to highlight various issues associated with disaster measures implemented in developed countries. First, regardless of how advanced disaster measures are, a “surge in disaster damage” can occur, which can lead to a “black swan” event. Therefore, it is necessary to formulate disaster prevention measures based on the assumption that such crises will occur in the future. Second, it is necessary for developed countries to determine how best to formulate reconstruction policies to avoid marginalizing disaster victims as well as to prevent over-specified reconstruction. In examining these two issues, the common problem that arises is how to conduct “risk assessment and enable its acceptance” most calmly immediately after a disaster and then formulate disaster prevention measures based on such assessment. Finally, the future of disaster sociology is detailed in this work. More specifically, in order for disaster sociology to escape its “marginal” status in sociology, it is necessary to consider “disaster” in the context of both a social structure and a social change—similar to how risk theory views the issue.     

The Nuclear Power Plant as God

There is a theological meaning to the disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plants. I can clarify this meaning through a sociological investigation of the significance of nuclear power in post‐war Japan. First, as preparation, I will compare the ideology of Christ to that of John the Baptist. Christ thought that we had already arrived at the Kingdom of God. This idea led to the activist aspect of Christ. Second, I will show that nuclear power was considered as a key for the gate to the Kingdom of God in Japan. We can distinguish three stages in Japan's post‐war period: the ideal, the fictive and the impossible. It was nuclear power that embodied the ideal during the first era. Third, I will explain how the Japanese fascination with nuclear power has been compatible with Japanese aversion toward it. For the Japanese, the nuclear power plant seemed to be like non‐alcoholic beer. In the fourth and fifth parts, I will prove that the nuclear disaster implies a message equivalent to Christ's announcement. Theodicy is an answer to the question of irrational misfortune in a world created by God. However the Book of Job as ultimate theodicy shows paradoxically the incompetence of God. This situation is similar to the disaster at Fukushima, which demonstrated the incompetence of nuclear power (as God). The distance between Job and Christ is short, because if God plays the role of Job himself, it becomes Christ. We will explain why Christ's message can be a call for revolutionary social movement.     

Deprivation of Furusato: The damage faced by evacuees after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident

This paper considers the damage caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake and the meaning of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident, and reflects on the evacuees' experiences over past 12 years. During this time, several lawsuits demanding the clarification of responsibility for the accident and compensation for damages have been filed against TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company) and the Japanese Government. The “loss and transformation of hometowns (furusato in Japanese)” has become one of the key issues in these lawsuits. While the casees were being litigated, the mandated “evacuation designated zones” were gradually lifted. Even in the “Difficult-to-Return Areas” where annual integrated doses of radioactive substances are over 50 mSv and evacuation orders are still in effect, efforts are being made to lift the evacuation orders. Because they were forced to leave their places of residence, evacuees have claimed, “we lost oue furusato [hometown].” However, because they are able to return after evacuation orders are lifted, both TEPCO and the Japanese Government have insisted that “their furusato has not been lost” and “they cannot claim compensation for furusato damages.” In this paper, I call the irreversible and absolute damage caused by the nuclear power plant accident “the deprivation of furusato.” I look at furusato from three aspects: the relationship between people and nature, the connection between people, and notions of persistence and sustainability. Then, I discuss what kind of reconstruction is being promoted to respond to the deprivation of furusato and for whom.     

The Shelf Life of a Disaster: Post‐Fukushima Policy Change in The United States And Germany

How can large‐scale disasters prompt policy change beyond the local environment in which they occurred? Working at the intersection of political sociology, disaster studies, and cultural sociology, we introduce the concept of the shelf life of a disaster to analyze the short and limited impact of Fukushima Daiichi on U.S. nuclear energy policy and its vitality within Germany. American media, nuclear industry representatives, regulators, and policy makers contributed to a tepid political environment for policy change by expanding symbolic distance from Fukushima, focusing on U.S. superiority to Japanese infrastructures. While this technicist orientation was evident in Germany as well, its distancing effects were offset by a conjunction of mechanisms that packaged Fukushima as a precursor to an inevitable German nuclear catastrophe.     

Nuclear Tourism

This essay describes a new post‐war pilgrim—the nuclear tourist who visits the sites where the first nuclear bombs were created and tested. Some such pilgrims are history enthusiasts, some are impelled by diffusely patriotic impulses, and others go to protest nuclear weapons. All go to “imagine the real”—or at least their insufficient version of it. The 50th anniversary of the first nuclear test drew thousands of these nuclear tourists to New Mexico where contesting narratives of commemoration mingled and clashed. The article explores ways in which the testing grounds in New Mexico are comparable with other sites of disaster because they resist “proper” notions of reverence.     

Challenges in Counter‐disaster Measures for People with Functional Needs in Times of Disaster Following the Great East Japan Earthquake

This article describes the three major challenges that were identified and their possible solutions are proposed in counter‐disaster measures for “people with functional needs in times of disaster (PFND)” following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. First, recent developments in preparedness measures for PFND in Japan have been uncritically relying on the assumption that hazard maps represent “correct” estimates of future hazardous events, which are based on the maximum probable event (MP_rE) framework. In reality, however, a maximum possible event (MP_oE) has occurred in the Tōhoku regions. This has tremendous implications for fundamentally re‐thinking the entire hazard estimation process from a MP_rE to MP_oE framework. Second, counter‐disaster measures for PFND have focused mainly on warning and neighborhood‐based evacuation assistance activities. Needs for shelters and temporary housing units that were specially designated for PFND arose following the earthquake. However, their provisions were neither systematic nor universal due to the lack of pre‐planning. More detailed guidelines for specially designated shelter and temporary housing operations need to be developed in order to address this issue. Third, people with disabilities (PWD) became invisible in shelters and communities or in the eyes of local government administrators. This was due to the fact that a majority of PWD did not ask for help in evacuation shelters because they felt general shelters were not “barrier free” and were unresponsive to their functional needs. Furthermore, many local government administrators felt hesitant to release their PFND registry to non‐governmental and self‐help organizations that were eager to check the whereabouts and current situations of PWD. This was due to the fear of breaking the Personal Information Protection Bylaw despite the fact that the bylaw provided exceptional conditions, where the onset of disaster was clearly one of these exceptional conditions. Further elaboration and education on the use of personal information of PFND during a disaster period is needed among public and local government administrators.     

Reconstruction and resilience after Fukushima: A critical analysis of nuclear risk and disaster

This article revisits the concept of reconstruction in light of the Fukushima nuclear accident on March 11, 2011. It also offers an analysis of the reconstruction policy launched by the Japanese authorities in the context of the risk due to low-dose radiation. What does reconstruction mean after this nuclear disaster? What kind of reconstruction is considered possible in the contaminated territories by those affected by this disaster and confronted with this long-term health and environmental risk? To answer these questions, this article first examines the concept of reconstruction—very close to that of resilience in the Japanese context—which has sparked a controversy within the social sciences, at both national and international level. Second, based on more than 100 interviews conducted between 2013 and 2016 across the entire Nippon archipelago, this article analyzes the reconstruction policy's socio-cultural consequences on the victims of this disaster who leave, stay or return to the contaminated territories. Finally, it proposes a new approach to the reconstruction of Fukushima, one which would support the process of resilience at the individual and collective levels.     

How Does the Restoration of Tōhoku Society Begin? Center and Periphery in the Great East Japan Earthquake

What can we learn from the Great East Japan Earthquake? In this article, I examine the effects of the overarching physical and social system that has developed in Japanese society for the last half century. I use the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident as an example. I will also look to the meaning of kuni (the Japanese word for country, state or nation), and emphasize the urgent need to advance sociological comparative analysis of different forms of nation, state and country in times of emergency.     

Space,People, Interventions and Time (SPIT): A Model for Understanding Children's Outdoor Play in Post‐Disaster Contexts Based On a Case Study from the Triple Disaster Area of Tohoku in North‐East Japan

Play in the outdoor environment is important for children as part of their childhood and is particularly important for children in a post‐disaster situation. This article explores issues around outdoor play opportunities in the Tohoku region of north‐east Japan, 13 months after the triple disaster of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power plant failure. A model of space, people, interventions and time (SPIT) is used to understand the situation in this unique case study.     

Experience of technological and natural disasters and their impact on the perceived risk of nuclear accidents after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan 2011: A cross-country analysis

This paper uses cross-country data compiled immediately after the Fukushima nuclear accident to investigate how the experience of such disasters affects the perception of the risk of nuclear accidents. Estimation results show that the perceived risk of a nuclear accident is positively associated with experiencing technological disasters but not with that of natural disasters.     

The Relevance of Modernity to Contemporary East Asia: An Outline

This article offers a framework for exploring the relevance of modernity to contemporary East Asia. I first examine different conceptualizations of modernity, paying special attention to Eisenstadt's influential concept of multiple modernities. Second, I point out the limitations and flaws of Eisenstadt's theory by drawing on nationalist politics in East Asia as an illustrative case. In particular, I examine the so-called “history perception problem,” which has been created by war and shaped by the legacies of war, to demonstrate the peculiar features of modernity in East Asia. Third, I use the works by three scholars as examples to show how intellectuals in China, South Korea, and Taiwan respond to the tensions between universalism and particularism, which, as a whole, reflect what can be called “East Asian modernity.” And finally, I try to respond to the controversial but fashionable question that is peculiar to East Asia: can modernity be overcome? It is argued that East Asia can be understood through the lens of modernity, and vice versa. Nowadays, modernity has become a global condition in both geographical and topological senses. It is not something to be overcome, but a condition that we all live in and should learn to live with, here and now.     

Communicating risk to parents and those living in areas with a disaster history

This study explored how publics respond to risk communication in high probability but time-indeterminate natural disaster situations when parts of the area have been involved in a similar disaster before. An impending rockslide is expected to produce a tsunami in the fjord around Åknes in Norway. Waves may run up above sea level as high as 82 m or 269 ft. All residents (18 and older) of the four most threatened communities received a questionnaire to determine what they perceived to be useful risk information. Three hundred and eighty-two (43.6% of 875) responded. Results indicated that parents of children living within the tsunami risk zones perceived the risk information to be the most useful. Those who lived in communities that experienced a similar disaster in 1934 reported public meetings less useful than written or mediated information. Publics who lived in communities with such disaster history and those who were not parents posed special challenges in risk communication because they perceived information from the government agencies as lacking in usefulness. Therefore, committing the resources necessary to foster dialogues with a diversity of publics exposed to risk would be well served to fully understand the nature of risk communication responses, and to be able to save human lives.     

“泛阿拉伯主义”在美国媒体的“帝国”意象

20世纪上半叶,面对阿拉伯人的统一诉求,有相当一部分人通过美国媒体,结合西方世界对伊斯兰教的刻板印象,将“泛阿拉伯主义”附会到中世纪的“阿拉伯帝国”,进而视其为西方文明的对立面。纳赛尔掌权后,美国媒体出于对埃及亲苏外交的敌视,纷纷指责埃及政府试图仰仗苏联支持,建立“阿拉伯帝国”。随着埃及(阿联)与苏联之间矛盾的加剧,美国舆论界仍继续敌视纳赛尔的“泛阿拉伯主义”,认为纳赛尔建立“阿拉伯帝国”的“野心”虽然导致其与苏联的纷争,但仍是西方的威胁。美国人对纳赛尔的敌视,虽然伴有强烈的冷战心态,但他们频繁以“阿拉伯帝国”或“穆斯林帝国”的历史意象,比附纳赛尔的“泛阿拉伯主义”实践,实际上是对“东西对立”叙事模式的延续,反映出西方世界长久以来对“伊斯兰征服”的历史记忆,并连带着对中东地区整合倾向的担忧。     

Impact of the Indian Ocean Tsunami on the Well-Being of Children

Abstract

This article provides an overview of the plight of the “tsunami generation” detailing the social and physical conditions after the disaster. Children are most vulnerable and need protection and clear and sustained support for rehabilitation. The social psychological recovery and protection of children are key concerns of child welfare and internal social service organisations. Policy and programmes should build on the people's resilience and provide the psychosocial and community support.     

The State and Civil Society in Disaster Response

Abstract

This paper, based on the report “The State and Civil Society in Disaster Response: An Analysis of the Tamil Nadu Tsunami Experience,” (Srinivasan, Nagaraj, & Venkatesh, 2005) is essentially an empirical analysis of state and civil society responses in Tamil Nadu (India) to the tsunami of December 26, 2004. It examines interventions by state and non-state agencies, as well as people's experiences in the relief and rehabilitation phases to identify factors influencing both positive and negative outcomes of the tsunami response. Issues related to vulnerability and exclusion, equity, transparency and accountability in different sectors of disaster intervention are explored to highlight themes revolving around reach and efficacy of relief and recovery processes. These analyses bring out some interesting lessons with regard to the importance of institutional autonomy, non-politicized decision-making, and synergetic state-civil society interfaces in fostering inclusive, transparent and accountable rehabilitation processes. The roles played by institutional responsiveness and flexibility in shaping an effective disaster response also emerge very clearly from this study of the Tamil Nadu experience. Another crucial finding points to the need for detailed, reliable and disaggregated geo-demographic and socioeconomic records as a resource base for informing relief and rehabilitation interventions. The study draws extensively from the experiences and insights of people affected by, and involved in tsunami response, and from secondary knowledge resources available on the disaster.     

Globale ökonomische Eliten? Eine Globalisierungsthese auf dem Prüfstand der Empirie

Does globalization lead to global markets for managers and international careers? The hypothesis of the globalization literature, that a transnational management is emerging out of a global “war of talents” is examinded by using data on the migration of managers from the U.S., East Asia and Germany. The data show, that no significant brain drain between these countries is taking place and “brain circulation” of insiders with short-term stays abroad is the dominant career pattern. The less likely the exchange of an installed CEO, the more career systems are used for status achievement by Clans and the stronger the influence of informal cultural rules, the higher is the rate of insiders. Thus, between the U.S., Germany and East Asia no significant global markets for managers are evolving.     

Disaster‐time Economy and an Economy of Morals: A Different Economic Order from the Market Economy under Globalization*

With the experience of two severe disasters (the Hanshin Awaji Earthquake disaster of 1995 and the Great East Japan Earthquake disaster of 2011), I wish to consider “subsistence” as human life, existence equaling the basic activities of life, an essential mutual act‐like existence economy. In this paper, I pursue a positive development of “disaster‐time economics” as a research object under the larger framework of the formation of a “moral economy,” as part of a critical process. In this paper, in order that a stricken area and society may aim at the realization of a new methodology about “creative revival” for newly developing independent research involving the state of the revival fund of a wide sense is carried out. Nevertheless, there is an overall understanding of who, in what areas, and using what methodology, has conducted research in the restoration and revival process, as well as the weak points that tend to hinder the process. There is no research on the rationality and function of public finance expenditures or national sources expenditures. Therefore, in this paper, the term “disaster‐time economy” is newly prepared. From this concept, many activities of the project, service, support, self‐efforts etc. of a social and private domain are grasped from a public sphere in connection with the process of maintenance/restoration under the disaster. The feature and subject point of the process are clarified. The market economy order that is going to be produced in this process does the basic work and determines the economic order for another self‐subsistence over life.     

Evidence from the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident: The Effect on Health,Education, and Labor Market Outcomes in Belarus

The Chernobyl nuclear accident of 1986 had deleterious health consequences for the population of Belarus, especially for those who were children at the time of the disaster. Using the 2003–2008 waves of the Belarusian Household Survey of Income and Expenditure (BHSIE), we estimate the effect of radiation exposure on the health, education, and labor market outcomes among cohorts and areas affected by the accident, utilizing the nuclear accident as a natural experiment. We find that young individuals who came from the most contaminated areas had worse health, were less likely to hold university degrees, were less likely to be employed, and had lower wages compared to those who were older at the time of the accident and who came from less contaminated areas.     

Developments of Middle East Political Landscape and their Impact in Post Iranian Nuclear Era

in the second half of 2015,the Middle East’s situation changed rapidly,.This paper reviews the recent conclusion of Iranian nuclear agreement,Russian military intervention in Syrian civil war,and breakthrough made in founding of Palestine as a nation,while analyzing the impact of these developments on the Middle East political landscape:first,the conclusion of Iranian nuclear agreement established Iran as the number one power;second,Russian military deployment in Syria fundamentally changed the balance of power between Shias and Sunnis,representing the first direct involvement of a global power other than the US in the Middle Ease after the end of Cold War;third,the breakthrough made in founding of Palestine as a nation has weakened the strategic position of Israel,possibly quasi-marginalizing Israel in the future Middle East political landscape.