STS Implications of Japan’s 3/11 Crisis

1. Introduction: Triple Disaster, Continued

On 11 March 2011, a mega-earthquake (magnitude 9.0) hit the northeastern coast of Japan, followed by tsunamis of historic scale and a series of nuclear power plant accidents. More than fourteen thousand people reportedly died, and thirteen thousand people remain missing as of 24 April 2011. Almost a half million people became homeless—mostly due to the earthquake and tsunami and the proximity of homes to atomic power plants. The unstoppable sweep of unleashed nature rendered humans desperate and stripped them of all hubris. The events of 3/11 devastated Japan’s artifice in one fell swoop.

This triple calamity represents a first in Japan’s modern history, with the exception of wartime disasters. What strikes us is not only the number of people suffering and the geographical extension of the area devastated but also the sequential nature of the disasters. Experts believe the malignant megascale seismic activity caused the killer tsunami, and both of them at their highest magnitude and height eventually induced the world’s worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.

The structure of this disaster is so complicated that we cannot yet single out the individual causalities with any precision. Geoscientists have identified three epicenters of the quake and upgraded its magnitude from 8.8 to 9.0, and the effects of the nuclear disaster (damage to reactors and total amount of radioactive substance leaked, for instance) is not yet clearly known. Scientists will further detail these respective disastrous events. We do, however, already know one thing quite definitely: the repercussions of this triple disaster have not yet ended. Japan still reverberates from heavy aftershocks, and those may be accompanied by additional tsunamis. Moreover, none of us can completely deny the possibility of another megaquake in any adjacent region, at the juncture of the eastern and southern Japanese basin plates. And we now realize with grave concern that we need to keep our eyes on both the damaged nuclear power plants and other nuclear facilities where as of yet no problems are known to have occurred. These exist not only in Fukushima but all over the nation. Japan has a total of fifty-five nuclear power generators. To compound the danger, some of them sit right on top of fault lines that could be activated by the next quake, but only one of those (the Hamaoka facility) has suspended its operation due to fear of another nuclear disaster.

Even though this disaster is ongoing, we would like to survey the state of affairs in Japan and share our observations, together with concerned scholars and the public, from the viewpoint of STS. We would like to discuss the situation as thoroughly and quickly as possible, and we hope all readers of EASTS will join us in analyzing this crisis and helping Japan to assess and manage the situation. First we outline four conspicuous characteristics of these disasters, then we offer some political background and describe the commitment of Japanese STS to disaster management. At the end we discuss our suggestions for policy makers.

2. Disaster’s Effects on Society and the Stereotyped Japanese

We have all realized that this triple sequence followed the worst-case scenario ever assumed. This scenario represents a nightmare that has long vexed the Japanese mind. In addition, this complicated triplet has diminished Japanese confidence in technology and its prevention measures.

This disaster has not only damaged people, their property, and the nation’s economy but has also injured the human psyche and destroyed countless communities. Thus the disaster’s effects are not limited to the destruction of human lives and physical structures; they also extend to changes in mass psychology and the moral and social order. Hence, Japan’s social and political order has been distorted and shall in due course be reconfigured. One of our authors, Tsukahara (2011), immediately remarked that this national crisis may have unleashed a potential for militarization and a resurgence of a harsh form of nationalism and that a Japanese “disaster capitalism” policy may appear in its aftermath.¹

This singular event highlighted the country’s...