Fall-out from Fukushima: Nuclear Evacuees Seeking Compensation and Legal Protection After the Triple Meltdown

This book challenges the narratives of safety and risk containment produced by TEPCO and the Japanese government by offering new empirical data on risk perceptions and life choices of some nuclear evacuees. It draws on a wide range of anthropologically-related methodologies and explores themes of self-governance, resistance, gender, kinship, class, and social change. It is the first ethnographic account of the Fukushima litigation and the first extensive qualitative study documenting the worldviews and living conditions of nuclear evacuees.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 190 pages
Publication date: 31 May 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This book delves into the compelling narratives of the Fukushima plaintiffs, who have challenged the prevailing safety and risk containment narratives propagated by TEPCO and the Japanese government. By presenting fresh empirical data on risk perceptions and life choices of some nuclear evacuees, the book offers a unique perspective on the ongoing crisis.

Given the vanishing presence of Fukushima evacuees in public discourse in Japan, the book engages with theoretical writings on risk, neoliberal governmentality, and citizen science. The chapters draw upon a diverse range of anthropologically-related methodologies, including socio-linguistics, participant observation, and qualitative interviews. Throughout, themes of self-governance, resistance, gender, kinship, class, and social change emerge, providing a comprehensive framework for understanding the Fukushima experience within a broader historical, social, and comparative context.

This book stands as the first ethnographic account of the Fukushima litigation and the first extensive qualitative study documenting the worldviews and living conditions of nuclear evacuees who relocated outside Fukushima Prefecture, with a particular emphasis on underrepresented groups (single mothers, elderly, and disabled evacuees). Moreover, it offers a critical evaluation of the history of industrial disasters and the role of citizens in shaping environmental policy in Japan.

Fall-out from Fukushima aims to serve as a manifesto for comprehending and advocating for post-nuclear disaster societies. It will captivate students and scholars of social, legal, and linguistic anthropology, science and technology studies, as well as Japanese studies, seeking to unravel the complexities of this tragic event and its enduring impacts.

Weight: 403g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032033044