Invisible radiation reveals who we are as people: environmental complexity, gendered risk, and biopolitics after the Fukushima nuclear disaster

ABSTRACT

The March 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, and the subsequent tsunami and release of nuclear contamination from the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, is clearly one of the largest disasters of the past century and it has devastated large portions of eastern Japan. In this paper we explore the coping mechanisms of people navigating these landscapes of contamination, as well as examine state policies developed to deal with the disaster. We argue that there has been a significant discrepancy between state policies and the needs of people directly affected by the catastrophe. To more fully examine why this discrepancy exists – and how it is produced – we investigate the complex geographies of contamination and risk near the damaged Fukushima power plant through the conceptual lens of ‘wet ontologies’ coupled with an analysis of state strategies for the governance of the affected populations. In our research we found that Foucauldian theorizations on biopower, neoliberalism and environmental governance can help explain how nuclear power as a social institution can require states to sacrifice the well-being of hundreds of thousands of their citizens in ways that affect people in gendered and age-specific ways.

RÉSUMÉ

Le tremblement de terre de Tōhoku en mars 2011, le tsunami qui a suivi et l’émission de contamination nucléaire de la centrale nucléaire de Fukushima Daiichi est de toute évidence l’un des désastres les plus importants du siècle passé et il a dévasté de grandes portions de l’est du Japon. Dans cet article, nous explorons les stratégies d’adaptation des gens évoluant dans ces paysages de contamination, et nous examinons aussi les politiques étatiques développées pour faire face au désastre. Nous soutenons qu’il y a eu une divergence importante entre les politiques adoptées par l’Etat et les besoins des personnes directement affectées par la catastrophe. Afin d’examiner plus en détail pourquoi cette divergence existe – et comment elle s’est produite – nous enquêtons sur les géographies complexes de la contamination et du risque proche de la centrale nucléaire endommagée à travers l’optique conceptuelle de « wet ontologies (ontologies de l’humidité) » associée à l’analyse des stratégies étatiques pour la gouvernance des populations affectées. Dans notre recherche, nous avons découvert que les théorisations foucaldiennes sur le bio pouvoir, le néolibéralisme et la gouvernance environnementale peuvent aider à expliquer comment la puissance nucléaire en tant qu’institution sociale peut induire des gouvernements à sacrifier le bien-être de centaines de milliers de leurs citoyens de façons qui affectent les personnes selon leur sexe et leur âge.

RESUMEN

El terremoto de Tōhoku en marzo de 2011, y el tsunami y la emisión de contaminación nuclear de la central eléctrica Fukushima Dai-ichi posteriores, es claramente uno de los desastres más grandes del siglo pasado y ha devastado grandes porciones del este de Japón. En este artículo se exploran los mecanismos de afrontamiento de las personas que navegan en estos paisajes de contaminación, y también se examinan las políticas estatales desarrolladas para hacer frente al desastre. Se sostiene que ha habido una discrepancia significativa entre las políticas estatales y las necesidades de las personas directamente afectadas por la catástrofe. Para examinar más a fondo el por qué esta discrepancia — y cómo se produce — se investigan las geografías complejas de contaminación y riesgo cerca de la dañada planta de Fukushima a través de la lente conceptual de las ‘ontologías húmedas’, junto con un análisis de las estrategias estatales para la gobernanza de las poblaciones afectadas. En la investigación se encontró que las teorizaciones hechas por Foucault sobre el biopoder, el neoliberalismo y la gobernanza ambiental pueden ayudar a explicar cómo la energía nuclear como institución social puede requerir que los estados sacrifiquen el bienestar de cientos de miles de sus ciudadanos de una forma que afecta a las personas de maneras especificas en relación con el género y la edad.

KEYWORDS:

• Radiation
• biopolitics
• disaster
• nuclear power
• political ecology
• Japan

Mots clés:

• radiation
• biopolitique
• désastre
• puissance nucléaire
• écologie politique
• Japon

Palabras clave:

• radiación
• biopolítica
• desastre
• energía nuclear
• ecología política
• Japón

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all of our interview respondents for their warm hospitality and for sharing their difficult stories with us. We are also thankful for the generous support we were given by our home institutions during the time we were conducting the field research: the University of Hawai’i-Hilo and Hobart and William Smith Colleges. We are also deeply indebted to Takae Nitto, Yuta Hirai and Nori Fujimoto for their tremendous help organizing and assisting us with our field research in Fukushima. Without their help this research would not have been possible. We also received excellent advice on earlier versions of this manuscript from the editors and anonymous reviewers. We thank them for their insightful suggestions that greatly improved this paper.

Notes

1. We used chain sampling which was appropriate because of the nature of our qualitative research; we did not seek generalizable findings, per se, but rather, thick description of some of the particular ways in which this disaster has been differentially experienced by individuals. Chain sampling was also useful because of the sensitivity and care we felt it was important to use in a disaster situation – a referral from a friend can lead to a more trusting participant and a more fruitful conversation than a cold call from an unknown (foreign) researcher.

2. For more information on various radioactive isotopes see: http://www.epa.gov/radiation/radionuclides/index.html.

3. Strontium-90, a beta emitter, has a half-life of 28 years and because it is treated by organisms much in the same way as calcium. It tends to accumulate in bodies (and throughout food chains). It therefore concentrates in the bones of animals and is linked to leukemia and bone cancers.

4. Names used are pseudonyms for purposes of confidentiality.

5. (http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/comp/images/jisseki-e.pdf).