9 - Disaster and Aftermath

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.