![]() ![]() Japan’s tragedy has also led to a re-energizing of investing in disaster risk reduction strategies.The effects of the Fukushima nuclear accident will be felt for decades into the future, say local and international activists on the 10th anniversary of Japan’s triple disaster of March 2011, contradicting the Japanese government’s official narrative that the crisis has largely been overcome. ![]() While immediately after the accident some governments announced plans to phase out of nuclear energy, others have continued their nuclear planning (although it’s probably true that all nuclear plants worldwide looked more seriously at their safeguard mechanisms in light of Fukushima). Internationally, the fallout of the Fukushima meltdowns for the future of nuclear energy has been mixed. It served as a wakeup call to the world that unanticipated disasters (or “ black swans“) happen and that those engaged in contingency planning need to be prepared for much more devastating disasters. It illustrated the extremely high economic costs of disasters occurring in developed countries and the vulnerabilities that come with urbanization and coastal settlement. It served as a warning that even developed, well-prepared countries are not immune from terrifying disasters. The effects of the Japanese disaster went far beyond Japan, of course. Japan’s energy future is also uncertain as the government has yet to issue a long-term strategy that clarifies the role of nuclear power in the country’s energy mix.īy Timothy J. Hundreds of thousands of people are still displaced, the quality of the nuclear cleanup continues to raise concerns, and the financial cost of rebuilding the Tohoku region is staggering (in its latest stimulus budget, the Abe government slated $18 billion dollars for this purpose). However, the reconstruction challenges remain daunting for Japan. And just as a previous natural disaster, the Kobe earthquake of 1995, helped spur the NGO movement in Japan, March 11, 2011 has seen has seen the activation of scores of non-profit groups and the consolidation of a culture of volunteerism. The dignity, creativity, and orderly response of the Japanese population to this mega disaster is indeed the best measure of Japan’s potential. The world watched in awe as Japanese citizens who had lost everything, immediately sprung to help one another. On a more positive note, the Triple Disaster also revealed Japan’s most valuable asset: the strength of its civil society. The enactment of more exacting safety standards and the development of new patterns of government regulation and monitoring of the nuclear industry have emerged as key topics in the national political debate. A large citizen movement calling for the abolition of nuclear power in Japan developed in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster. The social and political aftereffects of 3/11 are also formidable. ![]() Consequently, since 3/11 Japan has experienced record trade deficits, in the order of $78 billion in 2012. Since 3/11 only two nuclear reactors have restarted operations, and the Japanese government has had to resort to large increases in oil imports to make for the gap in electricity supply. While Japanese companies creatively restored the supply chains in just a few months, the shutdown of the nuclear reactors has had far more damaging long-term economic consequences. These in turn caused dramatic drops in industrial production that imposed a toll not only on Japan’s economy, but also on the many other countries linked through these production networks. The uprooting of entire communities and the large infrastructural losses produced immediate disruptions in Japan’s extensive supply networks. The economic, political, and social consequences of the Triple Disaster have changed Japan in fundamental ways. The Triple Disaster had effects on Japan and on the world. But it was the meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear plant – the world’s worst global nuclear crisis since Chernobyl in 1986 – which caused the most fear and provoked the greatest criticism of the Japanese government’s response. Some 465,000 people were evacuated after the disaster. Japanese response to the earthquake and tsunami was rapid, effective and life-saving. This was the most expensive disaster in human history. ![]() The economic destruction of the “Triple Disaster” was massive: 138,000 buildings were destroyed and $360 billion in economic losses were incurred. Japan’s legendary investment in earthquake-resistant design meant that only about 100 people died in the earthquake itself although almost 20,000 people lost their lives in the tsunami. Two years ago today, a devastating 9.0 earthquake struck Japan’s east coast, followed minutes later by a massive tsunami with 100 foot waves. ![]()
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