Pub Date : 2012-03-01DOI: 10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01169.X
C. Hommerich
This paper presents preliminary results of an analysis of trust in governmental institutions and social networks after the disaster of 11 March 2011, as well as an investigation of the implication of such trust resources for subjective well-being. Using data from a postal survey carried out in the Tōhoku and Kanto region in September 2011, differences in trust resources are explored by regional proximity to the disaster area as well as by personal affliction. Levels of social trust prove to be generally high, whilst trust in governmental institutions is low, especially when personally affected by the disaster. Trust resources are shown to contribute positively to subjective well-being and thus to constitute an important asset in the process of coping with disaster.
{"title":"Trust and Subjective Well‐being after the Great East Japan Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Meltdown: Preliminary Results","authors":"C. Hommerich","doi":"10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01169.X","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01169.X","url":null,"abstract":"This paper presents preliminary results of an analysis of trust in governmental institutions and social networks after the disaster of 11 March 2011, as well as an investigation of the implication of such trust resources for subjective well-being. Using data from a postal survey carried out in the Tōhoku and Kanto region in September 2011, differences in trust resources are explored by regional proximity to the disaster area as well as by personal affliction. Levels of social trust prove to be generally high, whilst trust in governmental institutions is low, especially when personally affected by the disaster. Trust resources are shown to contribute positively to subjective well-being and thus to constitute an important asset in the process of coping with disaster.","PeriodicalId":43424,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Japanese Sociology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2012-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01169.X","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63437606","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2012-03-01DOI: 10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01170.X
Kamon Nitagai
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.
{"title":"Disaster-time Economy and an Economy of Morals: A Different Economic Order from the Market Economy under Globalization*","authors":"Kamon Nitagai","doi":"10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01170.X","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01170.X","url":null,"abstract":"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. \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000Nevertheless, 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. \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000Therefore, 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.","PeriodicalId":43424,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Japanese Sociology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2012-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01170.X","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63437713","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2012-03-01DOI: 10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01157.X
Tomoko Kanayama
This article illustrates issues that community radio stations in the stricken area of Northern Japan have faced, and discusses the necessity of social collaboration for supporting these radio stations. As of 1 December 2011, the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications had granted permission to operate special emergency-broadcast FM stations, providing earthquake-related information, to residents of 27 communities in the Tōhoku and North Kanto regions. Ten such community stations have used existing FM radio frequencies in their community for emergency broadcasting while 15 local governments set up newly established community-based radio stations by themselves, relying on: conventional community radio stations nationwide; national and international non-profit organizations; and voluntarily organized civic groups. Despite playing such an important role, community radio stations themselves have struggled to survive, not because of damage caused by the disaster, but as a result of the current social system based upon economic stability. Many of these stations have faced financial problems, such as losing advertising revenue and funding needed for equipment damaged by the disaster. It has become more difficult, particularly for the stations newly set up, to produce a variety of programs when the operation becomes prolonged. As the community radio plays a vital role as a lifeline to provide disaster-related information to residents, we need to establish a supportive system in society that allows community radio to function as intended.
{"title":"Community Radio and the Tōhoku Earthquake","authors":"Tomoko Kanayama","doi":"10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01157.X","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01157.X","url":null,"abstract":"This article illustrates issues that community radio stations in the stricken area of Northern Japan have faced, and discusses the necessity of social collaboration for supporting these radio stations. As of 1 December 2011, the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications had granted permission to operate special emergency-broadcast FM stations, providing earthquake-related information, to residents of 27 communities in the Tōhoku and North Kanto regions. Ten such community stations have used existing FM radio frequencies in their community for emergency broadcasting while 15 local governments set up newly established community-based radio stations by themselves, relying on: conventional community radio stations nationwide; national and international non-profit organizations; and voluntarily organized civic groups. Despite playing such an important role, community radio stations themselves have struggled to survive, not because of damage caused by the disaster, but as a result of the current social system based upon economic stability. Many of these stations have faced financial problems, such as losing advertising revenue and funding needed for equipment damaged by the disaster. It has become more difficult, particularly for the stations newly set up, to produce a variety of programs when the operation becomes prolonged. As the community radio plays a vital role as a lifeline to provide disaster-related information to residents, we need to establish a supportive system in society that allows community radio to function as intended.","PeriodicalId":43424,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Japanese Sociology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2012-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01157.X","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63437541","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2012-03-01DOI: 10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01161.X
Harutoshi Funabashi
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.
{"title":"Why the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster is a Man‐made Calamity","authors":"Harutoshi Funabashi","doi":"10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01161.X","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01161.X","url":null,"abstract":"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.","PeriodicalId":43424,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Japanese Sociology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2012-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01161.X","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63437559","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2012-03-01DOI: 10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01158.X
S. Tatsuki
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 mea- sures 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 (MPrE) framework. In reality, however, a maximum possible event (MPoE) has occurred in the Tohoku regions. This has tremendous implications for fundamentally re-thinking the entire hazard estimation process from a MPr Et o MPoE 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 unrespon- sive to their functional needs. Furthermore, many local government administra- tors 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 elabo- ration and education on the use of personal information of PFND during a disaster period is needed among public and local government administrators. ijjs_1158 12..20
{"title":"Challenges in Counter‐disaster Measures for People with Functional Needs in Times of Disaster Following the Great East Japan Earthquake","authors":"S. Tatsuki","doi":"10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01158.X","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01158.X","url":null,"abstract":"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 mea- sures 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 (MPrE) framework. In reality, however, a maximum possible event (MPoE) has occurred in the Tohoku regions. This has tremendous implications for fundamentally re-thinking the entire hazard estimation process from a MPr Et o MPoE 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 unrespon- sive to their functional needs. Furthermore, many local government administra- tors 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 elabo- ration and education on the use of personal information of PFND during a disaster period is needed among public and local government administrators. ijjs_1158 12..20","PeriodicalId":43424,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Japanese Sociology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2012-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01158.X","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63437167","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2012-03-01DOI: 10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01164.X
Koichi Hasegawa
This paper discusses the sociological lessons learnt from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident that occurred on 11 March 2011. This disaster is the second largest nuclear accident after the Chernobyl accident. Meltdown and explosions occurred because of the hydrogen released from the damaged core. A large amount of radioactive materials has been released. Many people, around 150 000, are still in evacuation by government order or by their own choice. The incident has several characteristics. First, it is the first severe accident of a nuclear power station, the complex disaster being triggered by a large earthquake and tsunami. Second, the four reactors were simultaneously endangered. Third, the uncontrolled situation of the melted-down reactors has continued for more than 9 months. Fourth, it is the first severe accident of a nuclear power plant on the coast. Scientists are worried about serious contamination of seawater and damages to the ecosystem. This accident is a human disaster which an electric company and the national government are very much responsible for due to a series of “underestimates,” such as that of the height of a possible tsunami, the possibility of a “station blackout” and lengthy periods of no AC power. A lot of confusing and misleading information, along with the deliberate concealment of information and delay in information disclosure occurred. Located in the background of all of this is the “Atomic Circle,” a very closed relationship between politicians, government, academics, industry and the media. We should try and learn from all of this in building a post-nuclear East Asia. This would be the greatest lesson from the tragic Fukushima disaster and the greatest message to East Asia, the world and future generations.
{"title":"Facing Nuclear Risks: Lessons from the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster","authors":"Koichi Hasegawa","doi":"10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01164.X","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01164.X","url":null,"abstract":"This paper discusses the sociological lessons learnt from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident that occurred on 11 March 2011. This disaster is the second largest nuclear accident after the Chernobyl accident. Meltdown and explosions occurred because of the hydrogen released from the damaged core. A large amount of radioactive materials has been released. Many people, around 150 000, are still in evacuation by government order or by their own choice. The incident has several characteristics. First, it is the first severe accident of a nuclear power station, the complex disaster being triggered by a large earthquake and tsunami. Second, the four reactors were simultaneously endangered. Third, the uncontrolled situation of the melted-down reactors has continued for more than 9 months. Fourth, it is the first severe accident of a nuclear power plant on the coast. Scientists are worried about serious contamination of seawater and damages to the ecosystem. This accident is a human disaster which an electric company and the national government are very much responsible for due to a series of “underestimates,” such as that of the height of a possible tsunami, the possibility of a “station blackout” and lengthy periods of no AC power. A lot of confusing and misleading information, along with the deliberate concealment of information and delay in information disclosure occurred. Located in the background of all of this is the “Atomic Circle,” a very closed relationship between politicians, government, academics, industry and the media. We should try and learn from all of this in building a post-nuclear East Asia. This would be the greatest lesson from the tragic Fukushima disaster and the greatest message to East Asia, the world and future generations.","PeriodicalId":43424,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Japanese Sociology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2012-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01164.X","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63437145","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2012-03-01DOI: 10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01172.X
Y. Yamashita
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.
{"title":"How Does the Restoration of Tōhoku Society Begin? Center and Periphery in the Great East Japan Earthquake","authors":"Y. Yamashita","doi":"10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01172.X","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01172.X","url":null,"abstract":"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.","PeriodicalId":43424,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Japanese Sociology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2012-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01172.X","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63437894","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2012-03-01DOI: 10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01159.X
Kyoko Ueda, H. Torigoe
The purpose of this paper is to clarify why people continuously live in places where a specific natural disaster comes with apparent frequency. Even after a natural disaster of tremendous scale occurs, some victims attempt to remain or later return “home” while inviting the risk of experiencing further catastrophe. Why do people opt to continuously live where they are prone to natural disasters instead of living at a distance from the coastline? Especially for those who have just experienced the tsunami; what motivates them to make the decision to go back to the coast? As the case study of a community in a fishing village indicates, people know that life near the coast is inevitably entwined with both the severity and fertility of the sea. In other words, what people know is that they cannot have one without the other. Both sides of the sea have conditioned the life of people and that is what they have adapted to. Because of their closeness to the sea, the fertility they have enjoyed and the vulnerability as a coastal community are inseparable for them. When the tsunami struck, they did not know how to save all members of the community, their homes, nor their ships. Whereas, they did know how they should adapt to the inherent instability of their coastal community and how they should revive the community. This process would unfold only after having an understanding of the way in which they needed to adapt to their local bay. As a coastal community they were ready to accept their vulnerability, even immediately after the destruction of the tsunami, as it was the condition in which to enjoy the fertility of the sea as their ancestors had done throughout history.
{"title":"Why do Victims of the Tsunami Return to the Coast","authors":"Kyoko Ueda, H. Torigoe","doi":"10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01159.X","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01159.X","url":null,"abstract":"The purpose of this paper is to clarify why people continuously live in places where a specific natural disaster comes with apparent frequency. Even after a natural disaster of tremendous scale occurs, some victims attempt to remain or later return “home” while inviting the risk of experiencing further catastrophe. Why do people opt to continuously live where they are prone to natural disasters instead of living at a distance from the coastline? Especially for those who have just experienced the tsunami; what motivates them to make the decision to go back to the coast? \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000As the case study of a community in a fishing village indicates, people know that life near the coast is inevitably entwined with both the severity and fertility of the sea. In other words, what people know is that they cannot have one without the other. Both sides of the sea have conditioned the life of people and that is what they have adapted to. Because of their closeness to the sea, the fertility they have enjoyed and the vulnerability as a coastal community are inseparable for them. When the tsunami struck, they did not know how to save all members of the community, their homes, nor their ships. Whereas, they did know how they should adapt to the inherent instability of their coastal community and how they should revive the community. This process would unfold only after having an understanding of the way in which they needed to adapt to their local bay. As a coastal community they were ready to accept their vulnerability, even immediately after the destruction of the tsunami, as it was the condition in which to enjoy the fertility of the sea as their ancestors had done throughout history.","PeriodicalId":43424,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Japanese Sociology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2012-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01159.X","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63437284","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2012-03-01DOI: 10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01156.X
J. Bator
After the two major nuclear disasters I have witnessed in my life, Chernobyl and Fukushima, I experienced uncertainty that seemed stronger than fear, anger or panic. In George Button's excellent work I found my personal experience of uncertainty explained as a cultural phenomenon that indeed prevails after all natural and manmade disasters. He has been studying disasters for over 30 years as an academic and a reporter. He covered and reported on, for example, the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster, the Exxon Valdes oil spill, and Hurricane Katrina. His book tells a powerful story about US disasters and their cultural aspects. However, I think that Button's research methodology and his findings can be applied to the Japanese situation as well. On the one hand, his book can serve as a warning on how not to act in the face of calamity if we want our culture to survive the suffering, and, on the other, it can serve as inspiration for domestic research on the most recent Japanese calamity. Button is interested in the way a disaster becomes a cultural, social and political phenomenon where uncertainty prevails and his focus on uncertainty as a main category seems to be a pioneering attempt that his book extends from previous studies. He focuses on uncertainty as an experience of affected people as well as the politics of uncertainty inflected in a time of calamity and finds that the two aspects are correlative.
{"title":"The Cultural Meaning of Disaster: Remarks on Gregory Button's Work","authors":"J. Bator","doi":"10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01156.X","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01156.X","url":null,"abstract":"After the two major nuclear disasters I have witnessed in my life, Chernobyl and Fukushima, I experienced uncertainty that seemed stronger than fear, anger or panic. In George Button's excellent work I found my personal experience of uncertainty explained as a cultural phenomenon that indeed prevails after all natural and manmade disasters. He has been studying disasters for over 30 years as an academic and a reporter. He covered and reported on, for example, the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster, the Exxon Valdes oil spill, and Hurricane Katrina. His book tells a powerful story about US disasters and their cultural aspects. However, I think that Button's research methodology and his findings can be applied to the Japanese situation as well. On the one hand, his book can serve as a warning on how not to act in the face of calamity if we want our culture to survive the suffering, and, on the other, it can serve as inspiration for domestic research on the most recent Japanese calamity. Button is interested in the way a disaster becomes a cultural, social and political phenomenon where uncertainty prevails and his focus on uncertainty as a main category seems to be a pioneering attempt that his book extends from previous studies. He focuses on uncertainty as an experience of affected people as well as the politics of uncertainty inflected in a time of calamity and finds that the two aspects are correlative.","PeriodicalId":43424,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Japanese Sociology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2012-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01156.X","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63437450","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2012-03-01DOI: 10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01171.X
Tarohmaru Hiroshi
{"title":"Social Class in Contemporary Japan: Structures, Sorting and Strategies – Edited by Hiroshi Ishida and David H. Slater","authors":"Tarohmaru Hiroshi","doi":"10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01171.X","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01171.X","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":43424,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Japanese Sociology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2012-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1111/J.1475-6781.2012.01171.X","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63437788","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：