Issues of disaster justice affecting the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe

Disasters in the Anthropocene highlight the destructive character of human-induced environmental transformations. In contrast with the past, contemporary disasters are larger in scope and more socially complex. Populations are faced with increased vulnerability: existing structures cannot efficiently cope with the extreme events that shape the volatile landscapes of the 21st century. Of vital importance for policy making are questions of justice, as perceived injustices surrounding disaster governance can destabilize societal functioning. The 2011 tragic events in Japan may serve to illustrate this contention. The Tohoku Earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear catastrophe at Fukushima Daiichi are a paramount example of a compound disaster. The Fukushima debacle is ongoing and has highlighted issues of public trust, risk communication, nuclear risk governance, legal accountability, and moral responsibility; it has sparked multiple antinuclear protests and reshaped citizen movements; it has segregated a population of nuclear refugees through displacement and state invisibilization; and it has confronted local residents and governments with contentious choices regarding reconstruction in a contaminated environment. This debacle has taken place without an articulate consideration of disaster justice. In this article, I will discuss the most salient issues affecting the making and outcome of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in terms of government responses. For this analysis, I will utilize a heuristic frame of disaster justice to understand the particular types of issues that manifest in disaster contexts. This research is based on the analysis of documents, media, and reports and is also informed by ethnographic fieldwork conducted in northeastern Japan and Tokyo between 2011 and 2016.