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9 - Disaster and Aftermath

Informal Life Politics after 2011

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

Tessa Morris-Suzuki
Affiliation:
Australian National University, Canberra
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Summary

The Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami of 2011 and the ensuing Fukushima nuclear disaster created huge challenges for Japanese society, and led to renewed interest in diverse forms of informal life politics. This chapter examines how communities in Fukushima Prefecture, Hokkaido and elsewhere responded to the crisis by developing citizens’ radiation measurement schemes, organic agriculture projects and projects to support those who sought refuge from areas affected by nuclear radiation. Though some of these responses were short-lived, the longer term impact of the disaster can, I argue, be seen in the rising interest within Japan in Transition Town and grassroots alternative energy schemes, and in forms of social action which combine artistic with political modes of expression. In examining these developments, this chapter also notes how aspects of the new, post-Fukushima grassroots activism links back to themes embraced by earlier generations of Japanese informal life politics.

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Chapter
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Japan's Living Politics
Grassroots Action and the Crises of Democracy
, pp. 179 - 198
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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  • Disaster and Aftermath
  • Tessa Morris-Suzuki, Australian National University, Canberra
  • Book: Japan's Living Politics
  • Online publication: 16 April 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108780049.009
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  • Disaster and Aftermath
  • Tessa Morris-Suzuki, Australian National University, Canberra
  • Book: Japan's Living Politics
  • Online publication: 16 April 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108780049.009
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Disaster and Aftermath
  • Tessa Morris-Suzuki, Australian National University, Canberra
  • Book: Japan's Living Politics
  • Online publication: 16 April 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108780049.009
Available formats
×