Slow activism in third places: de-normalizing radiation and rebuilding ethical relations after Fukushima

ABSTRACT

What are the possibilities for action and agency in a world of chronic, invisible environmental harm? How can environmental social movements address crises wherein affected communities have ambivalent or conflicting perceptions of the environmental harm in question? Through extensive participant observation and in-depth interviews, this study explores these questions in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear accident of March 2011. One way in which concerned citizens and advocates across the country responded to this accident was to organize recuperation retreats, meant to provide temporary relief from the physical threat of radiation exposure for children and families still living in Fukushima prefecture. Such retreats are primarily sites of relaxation, play, and immersion in nature. In providing ‘third places’ for conversation about shared experiences, ongoing concerns, and practical information about radiation risk, retreats also function to de-normalize radiation contamination and cultivate ethical relations based on transparency, trust, and mutual support. I argue that recuperation retreat organizing, as well as the act of participation, represents a form of slow activism that falls outside of the binary of resistance and quiescence. Recuperation retreats present a potential model for a public health response to environmental health crises, particularly in cases of environmental uncertainty and contestation.

KEYWORDS:

• Fukushima
• nuclear disaster
• slow activism
• slow disaster
• radiation
• environmental politics

Acknowledgement

The author would like to acknowledge the valuable feedback provided by Stewart Lockie and three anonymous reviewers for this journal, as well as the generous support and guidance from Phil Brown, Sara Wylie, Linda Blum, Daniel Aldrich, and members of the Social Science Environmental Health Institute at Northeastern University.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences [T32-ES023769].

Notes on contributors

Elicia Mayuri Cousins

Elicia Mayuri Cousins is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology at Clark University.