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The Hermeneutics of Radiation and the Three Tsunamis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2025

Paul Jobin
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Abstract

The first tsunami that hit northern Japan in March 2011 was a big wave of salt water. The second tsunami was comprised of cement dikes designed to protect against a tsunami. The third tsunami is a socio-political process that erases memory of the disaster. The nuclear disaster that followed the first tsunami has reactivated the dispute over the effects of low-dose radiation. This controversy, which dates back to the experience of the hibakusha in 1945, includes a problem of hermeneutics—a conflict of interpretation—over what is being counted as “data”.

Keywords

Fukushimadisasternuclear energytsunamiradiationnuclear safety
Type
Research Article
Information
Asia-Pacific Journal , Volume 19 , Issue 17 , September 2021 , e7
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2021

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