The Asia-Pacific Journal | Japan Focus Volume 9 | Issue 28 | Number 4 | Article ID 3562 | Jul 11, 2011

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Social Fallout: Marginalization After the Fukushima NuclearMeltdown　　社会的余波−−フクシマ原発炉心溶融後の周辺化

Robert Jacobs

Social Fallout: Marginalization Afterthe Fukushima Nuclear Meltdown

Robert Jacobs

On March 1, 1954 a Japanese tuna trawler wasat sea in the Marshal l Is lands. Quiteunexpectedly grey ash began to fall like snowand covered the boat and crew. It was notsnow; it was radioactive fallout from a nucleartest that had been conducted by the UnitedStates hours earlier 90 miles from the exclusionzone proclaimed by the US. This nuclearexplosion, known as the Bravo Test, was thefirst detonation of a deliverable hydrogenbomb. The 15 megaton bomb, approximately1,000 times greater than the bomb dropped onHiroshima, was the largest explosion in humanhistory at the time. It would render several ofthe atolls that make up the Marshall Islandsuninhabitable. March 1st is now called NuclearVictims and Survivors Remembrance Day in theMarshall Islands. However, for the crewmembers of the trawler it was a mystery.

Two weeks later the trawler pulled into port inYaizu in central Japan. The crew members wereall sick with radiation poisoning, whosesymptoms included pain, nausea, dizziness,burns and diarrhea and one, radio operatorKuboyama Aikichi, died six months later. Newsof the incident spread around the world and theword “fallout” entered the public vocabulary.The boat was named the Daigo Fukuryū maru:the Lucky Dragon #5. The Japanese kanjicharacter “fuku” means fortunate or lucky.1

The Japanese word fuku has recently returnedto the newspapers of the world. This time it is

in the name of the nuclear power plants thathave melted down as a result of the earthquakeand tsunami of March 11. Fukushima, theprefecture in which the meltdown occurred,means “fortunate island.” In both of theseinstances it has come to carry a much darkerconnotation.

Tsunami waters engulf the FukushimaDaiichi Nuclear Plant, March 11, 2011

As the world now knows, three nuclear powerplants in Japan’s Northeast fully melted downand radiation then passed through theirprimary containment. Enormous amounts ofr a d i a t i o n h a v e e n t e r e d i n t o t h eenvironment—into the air, the sea, and thegroundwater. This radiation is already having adevastating effect on the local ecosystem(link) and perhaps far beyond (link), and it willcontinue to impact all who dwell therein fordecades to come. But there is a secondaryimpact, just as invisible as the radiation that

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the communities of Northern Japan will have tocontend with: the social and cultural fallout ofradiation exposure. Having studied the historyof communities exposed to radiation in thewake of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima,Nagasaki and Micronesia for many years withAustralian scholar Mick Broderick, it is easy tosee some of the difficulties that lie ahead forsurvivors and evacuees from Fukushima.2

Many of the residents displaced from aroundthe plant will never return to their homes.3 Thishas not been made clear to them, and while thenews is painful, the truth is easier to plan fromthan false hopes. For many this will be aprofound disruption of traditional ways of life.4 Tohoku is among Japan’s poorest areas, onethat has industrialized and urbanized lessquickly than has much of Western Japan. It is aregion notable for the existence of farms andfishing communities, some already marginaland depopulated before the earthquake andtsunami.5 Many of the displaced people comefrom families that have been farming the sameland or living in the same community forgenerations.6 When people from such long linesof traditional living find themselves intemporary shelters, and then in apartments onthe fringes of Tokyo or elsewhere, they havelost more than just their homes. They have losta piece of their identities.7 The rhythms of lifeare different, the diet is different—even theaccents are different. Many people who weredisplaced from their home atolls in theMarshall Islands after being contaminated withradiation from the Bravo Test have never fullyadjusted to the new atolls to which they wereremoved, and to the disconnection fromfamiliar lands and diets. Living now as refugeesin others’ home atolls, their lives have beentransformed from one of mastery and ability toone of dependency.8 People can be moved tonew homes, but the bonds that connect us towho we are and where we come from cannot bereplaced.

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We have all seen the photographs of theevacuees being checked for radioactivecontamination. Terrified children and adultswith their arms held out as someone in ahaz/mat suit and a gas mask scans them. This isthe beginning of their new identities asradiation-affected people. Consider the scene:the person who is scanning you is wearing asuit to protect himself—from you—as aphotographer records the moment because it isunnatural and people around the world willwant to gawk. Even if no radiation is detected,the sense that others find you dangerous orneed to avoid you penetrates deep into thepsyche, into one’s fears.9 There have beenreports of cars with Fukushima prefecturelicense plates being denied service at gasstations in other prefectures, and stories arerife of evacuated children (no doubt some ofthem having endured radiation scanning and nolonger living in their homes) being bullied byother children in their new schools andostracized for being “contaminated”. As theexperience of the victims of Hiroshima andNagasaki suggest, this will not end anytimesoon. These children, as well as adults, cananticipate a life in which employers arereluctant to hire them (“they may get sick moreoften than other employees”) and potentialpartners are reluctant to marry them (“theymay give birth to mutated children!”).10 Thosewho have endured radiation exposure in otherplaces can tell them what to expect. A survivor

of Chernobyl commented that those near theFukushima plants will forevermore define theirl ives as “before Fukushima and afterFukushima.” 1 1

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Left in place while high levels of radioactivityfrom the three melted nuclear cores exposedthem to ever larger doses, are the residentswho lived near the plants supposed to comfortthemselves that their exposures were done inorder “not to panic” people? Imagine if, in themany public relations efforts in the nearbycommunities, TEPCO officials had said this:“We promise to make public safety a priority.We are committed to the safety of ourneighbors at Fukushima Daiichi. And ourpledge to you today is that if there is a seriousaccident and releases of radioactivity that mayaffect you, we pledge that we will not informyou of this event since our highest commitmentis to insure that you don’t panic. You can counton this.”12 Scores of thousands of people havesince been forced to evacuate from a 20 kmradius from the plant, and then additionallyfrom hot spots out to 30 km there have beenvoluntary evacuations. However, high levels ofradiation have been detected as far away asFukushima City, that is, levels above thosewhich required mandatory evacuations fromChernobyl.13

Already tests have shown the presence ofradionuclides in the breast milk of somenursing mothers who were not evacuated fromareas near the plant quickly enough.14 Childrenas far away as Fukushima City have beenconfirmed to have radioactive cesium-134 intheir urine.15 How will a nursing mother look at

her baby now? Will she fear that she may be asource of contamination to her child? How willshe look at herself?16 There are press reports ofmothers choosing not to breast feed becausethey don’t want to contaminate theirbabies.17 What long-term damage is being doneto these formative relationships?18 How willparents treat an accident in which their toddleraccidentally wets his or her pants? Will theyregard this not only as a nuisance, but ascontamination to and from their child, or totheir home?19 Stories of depression among theevacuees, and among those not evacuated butnear enough to the plants to be anxious aboutradiation, abound in the press. Japanese suiciderates, chronically among the world’s highest,have increased even higher.20

Every July or August (depending on thelocation) the Japanese celebrate the Buddhistholiday of Bon (formally called Obon). This is anancient holiday in which the hard work andsacrifices of the ancestors are honored.Traditionally Japanese families gather in theirhome village to celebrate, to clean andmaintain the grave sites of departed familymembers, and to welcome the spirits of theirdead ancestors who briefly visit this earthlyrealm. At the beginning of Obon, families lighta fire in the home, and then visit the graves ofthe ancestors and call to them so as to guidethem to the family. The ancestral spirits visitthe family home and are reunited with theirdescendants. At the end of the festival lanternsare lit at grave sites and set afloat in rivers andon lakes to guide the ancestors back to thespirit world. For the families of those whose ancestral homes are inside the evacuationzone, this holiday can no longer be observed inthe traditional manner.

Now, many grave sites are in areas that peoplewill not be allowed to visit because of theradiation danger. These graves will not becleaned. When the spirits of the ancestorsarrive, no one will be there to greet them, or toguide them to the ancestral home. Ancestors

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and descendants will be unable to reunite.W h a t w i l l b e t h e i m p a c t o f s u c h adisruption?21 After years of leaving ancestralgraves untended, and ancestral spirits un-honored, people may begin to feel dislocated.When important cultural rituals are leftuncompleted, a tear in the psyche leaves usmore vulnerable. Our thoughts, perhapsconscious, perhaps not, might be: What mustthe ancestors think of us, their descendants?And who will honor our spirits when we aredead, since we did not meet our own familialobligations? Even though people are aware ofthe compelling structural reasons that theycannot honor this obligation, the disconnectionfrom family and tradition is often experiencedas a personal failing to their family and to thosewho sacrificed in the past so that the familymight thrive. To feel that one’s generation hasbroken a bond and tradition stretching backover centuries can deeply affect one’s sense ofwell being.

Or think of those who had family members thatdied in the tsunami, and whose bodies wererecovered near the nuclear plants. In manycases the bodies of loved ones were found to behighly radioactive.22 The families were notallowed to claim those bodies and to conduct atraditional cremation and funeral since thebodies were declared to be “toxic waste.” Howdoes one live with the knowledge that parents,grandparents, children, loved ones, must sufferthe indignity of “waste disposal” rather thanthe honor of a traditional funeral? It is oftensaid that a funeral is for the benefit of those leftbehind. Additionally, it is customary in Japanfor family members to be buried together. Howdoes one compensate for being unable to givehonor and final rest to one’s loved ones? Toexcluding them from the family’s collectiveremains?

These disruptions of familial integrity can haveunforeseen and often devastating consequencesthat may not surface for years. In radiation-exposed communities it is often towards the

end of ones own life when the toll of havingbeen denied the ability to honor ancestorstakes its psychic toll. Who will be there forthese people in 20-30 years when many of themwil l be deal ing with th is sorrow anddepression? What steps will be taken this year,this summer, to help these families to find waysto observe the Obon holiday and to honor theirancestors in a manner that helps them to healrather than tears open deeper psychologicaland emotional wounds? What steps will betaken next year?

Those impacted by the disaster of theFukushima nuclear meltdowns, including bothFukushima citizens and workers at TEPCO’sFukushima Daiichi plants, are the newesthibakusha. They are at the beginning of what islikely to be a long and painful journey.Hibakusha from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, andfrom nuclear test sites at Bikini and around theworld, can tell the people of NortheasternJapan what lies ahead. However, the rest of ushave an opportunity here as well. We can takesteps at the beginning of this journey to helpthose exposed to radiation, and those who havelost their homes to contamination, to have adifferent path then those who have come beforethem. We can intervene to anticipate and helpto ease the social, emotional and familial falloutof this tragedy before it contributes to thedevastating trauma these people have suffered.Perhaps teams could move graves from insideto outside of the evacuation zone, or alternativesites can be established for families to honorancestors. Similar sensitivity should be paid toburying the victims of the 3.11 earthquaketsunami and meltdown disasters, both thosewhose bodies have been recovered and thosewho are missing. We can learn from the past,and work together for healing the victims ofatomic meltdown.

Robert Jacobs is an associate professor at theHiroshima Peace Institute at Hiroshima City

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University. He is the author of The Dragon'sTai l : Americans Face the Atomic Age(University of Massachusetts Press, 2010) andthe editor of Filling the Hole in the NuclearFuture: Art and Popular Culture Respond to theBomb (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2010).

Recommended citation: Robert Jacobs, SocialFallout: Marginalization After the FukushimaNuclear Meltdown, The Asia-Pacific Journal Vol9, Issue 28 No 4, July 11, 2011.

Notes

1 See Ōishi Matashichi, The Day the Sun Rosein the West. Bikini, the Lucky Dragon, and Itranslated by Richard H. Minear, (Honolulu:University of Hawai’i Press, 2011). See also “Adialogue about nuclear-related issues” betweenŌishi Matashichi and Oe Kenzaburo.

2 Mick Broderick, “Topographies of Trauma:Dark Tourism, World Heritage and Hiroshima,”Intersections: Gender and Sexuality in Asia andthe Pacific Issue 24, June 2010.

3 Nick Allen, “Japan: the 'Nuclear Refugees'Who May Never Go Home,” The Telegraph(March 23, 2011).

4 “Iitate Holdouts Find Nuclear Refugee OptionHard Choice,” Japan Times (June 15, 2011).

5 “Evacuees Lose Welfare Benefits / Cash fromTEPCO, Donations puts 150 Households OverIncome Limit,” Yomiuri Shimbun (June 17,2011).

6 Martin Fackler and Matthew L. Wald, “Life in

Limbo for Japanese Near Nuclear Plant,” NewYork Times (May 1, 2011).

7 Henry Ridgwell, “Ordeal Continues for Japan'sNuclear Evacuees,” Voice of America (April 2,2011).

8 Nakagawa Masami, Honda Masakazu, HirakoYoshinori and Sadamatsu Shinjiro, “Bikini: 50Years of Nuclear Exposure,” translated byKyoko Selden, The Asia-Pacific Journal.

9 “Radiation Fears Fuel Abuse of FukushimaFuzoku Gals,” The Tokyo Reporter (June 22,2011).

10 Rick Wallace, “Discrimination IncreasesTorment of Fukushima,” The Australian (June11, 2011). The writer Hayashi Kyoko has vividlycaptured the emotional and physical torment ofNagasaki hibakusha. See, for example, “Masksof Whatchamacallit,” in Kyoko Selden andNoriko Mizuta, eds., More Stories by JapaneseWomen Writers. An Anthology. Armonk. M.E.Sharpe, 2011, pp. 52-75.

1 1 Dana Kennedy, “Chernobyl CleanupSurvivor's Message for Japan: 'Run Away asQuickly as Possible’'” AOL News (March 22,2011).

12 “Nuclear Accident Disclosure,” The JapanTimes (July 8, 2011).

13 Hisae Sate and Fumikazu Asai, “Radiation-contaminated area spans 800 square km, newmap shows,” Asahi Shimbun (May 12, 2011).

14 Danielle Demetriou, “Radioactive IodineFound in Breast Milk of Japanese Mothers,”The Telegraph (April 21, 2011).

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15 Say-Peace, “Protecting Children AgainstRadiation: Japanese Citizens Take RadiationProtection into Their Own Hands,” The Asia-Pacific Journal, Volume 9, Issue 25, No. 1, June20, 2011.

16 “Japan's Radiation Dilemma: Leave or Live inFear,” CBS News (June 28, 2011).

17 Deborah Dupre, “Japanese Parents: 'TestEveryone!' Children 60km from FukushimaIrradiated Urine,” The Examiner (June 30,2011).

18 “Survey Shows Disappointment, AngerAmong Fukushima Evacuees,” Asahi Shimbun(June 25, 2011).

19 “Radiation in Japan: Nosebleed, Diarrhea,Lack of Energy in Children in Koriyama City,Fukushima,” EX-SKF (June 15, 2011).

20 Ted Thornhill, “Japan’s suicide rates soar byup to 39 per cent in areas h i t by theearthquake,” The Daily Mail (June 24, 2011);John Glionna, “Japan fears post-quake rise insuicides,” Los Angeles Times (April 24, 2011);Kyung Lah, “Farmer's Suicide Note ShowsJapan's Disaster Impact,” CNN (June 14, 2011).See also "Elderly Fukushima woman kills self'to evacuate to grave'", Mainichi Shimbun July11, 2011.

21 Chisa Fujioka, “Japan Priest Speaks Out onSpiritual Toll of Nuclear Crisis,” Reuters (June9, 2011). On priests cleaning up non-contaminated graves in Miyagi prefecture see"As reconstruction progresses at a crawl,priests help rebuild graveyards," MainichiShimbun July 10, 2011.

22 Karl Huus, “Japan faces another dilemma:Radiation-contaminated bodies,” MSNBC.com(April 6, 2011).