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Fukushima Legacies

National Advocacy and Mothers Against Radiation

  • Open Access
  • 2026
  • Open Access
  • Buch
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SUCHEN

Über dieses Buch

Dieses Open-Access-Buch konzentriert sich auf die Hinterlassenschaften des Aktivismus nach Fukushima, die mit bedeutenden Veränderungen in der japanischen Zivilgesellschaft verbunden sind. Dreizehn Jahre sind seit der Atomkatastrophe von Fukushima vergangen. Die japanische Regierung versucht, den Eindruck zu vermitteln, Japan habe sich vollständig erholt und ein Gefühl der Normalität wiedererlangt. Aber Japan kämpft weiterhin mit den Auswirkungen der Atomkatastrophe, und die Pläne der Regierung beginnen zu scheitern. Japans Zivilgesellschaft, die über ein Jahrzehnt nach der Atomkatastrophe von Fukushima Vermächtnisse wie etablierte Netzwerke, gemeinsame wissenschaftliche Erkenntnisse und Erfahrungen mit Interessenvertretungen gestärkt und angehäuft hat, war eine der wichtigsten Widerstandskräfte gegen die Pläne der Regierung. Der Aktivismus nach Fukushima hat sein Repertoire erweitert und damit verschiedene Hinterlassenschaften zukünftiger sozialer Bewegungen fest geformt. Das Buch konzentriert sich auf die folgenden drei Aspekte, die in früheren Forschungen nicht gründlich untersucht wurden: die nationale Interessenvertretung zivilgesellschaftlicher Organisationen durch eine spezielle Art von Gesetzen, die als "Diet Member Bill" bezeichnet werden; die Herkunft von Müttern und anderen Frauen, die für CSOs mobilisiert wurden, mit einem Schwerpunkt auf Interessenvertretung; und die Langlebigkeit dieser CSOs.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Open Access

Chapter 1. Introduction
Abstract
After a brief look at the current situation in Fukushima, this introduction presents the central focus of the book: identifying new legacies of post-Fukushima activism. Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) carried out more than ten years of activities to improve government policies on radiation and to support evacuees from affected areas. This introduction argues that the key points and potential pitfalls in CSOs’ advocacy and longevity, revealed through these long-term activities, constitute these legacies. The introduction also provides an overview of the analytical frameworks, data, and methodologies employed, and outlines the structure of the book.
Ayaka Löschke

Legacies of Post-Fukushima National Advocacy Against Radiation

Frontmatter

Open Access

Chapter 2. A Diet Member Bill as a Key Influence on National Policymaking
Abstract
This chapter delves into Japanese Civil Society Organisations’ (CSOs’) shift in national advocacy after Fukushima, examining the policymaking process of the Nuclear Disaster Victims’ Support Law between April 2011 and June 2012. CSOs participated in this policymaking process to urge the government to revoke the radiation exposure limit that had been raised twentyfold after Fukushima and to support the evacuation of residents from irradiated areas. The chapter views the CSO involvement as an important precedent because it demonstrates that CSOs can influence national policymaking through a Diet Member bill, which is a specific legislation initiated by multi-partisan politicians, often at the request of CSOs.
Ayaka Löschke

Open Access

Chapter 3. Failing to Identify Lobbying Targets for Policy Implementation
Abstract
This chapter explores the national advocacy of Japanese Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) after Fukushima, focusing on the implementation of the Nuclear Disaster Victims’ Support Law between July 2012 and August 2015. This law was hardly implemented because it conflicted with other government policies. Despite their strong involvement in policymaking, CSOs struggled to influence the implementation process due to difficulties in identifying actual decision makers as lobbying targets. The analysis thus highlights this as a key pitfall in effectively influencing policy implementation. The chapter also shows how, from March 2013 onwards, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party urged evacuees to return to Fukushima by introducing new methods for measuring radiation exposure.
Ayaka Löschke

Open Access

Chapter 4. A Fukushima Victims’ Movement: Submitting to Bureaucratic Conciliatory Measures
Abstract
This chapter analyses the victims’ movement (tōjisha undō) opposing the termination of rent-free public housing provided to evacuees following the Fukushima nuclear disaster between March 2011 and March 2017. This housing policy was a lifeline, particularly for approximately 25,000 ‘voluntary evacuees’ (jishu hinansha), people who had relocated at their own expense without any official evacuation order. The analysis focuses on six key points and pitfalls in the advocacy of victims’ movements, building on previous research on victims’ movements in Japan. It identifies bureaucratic conciliatory measures which exploit victims’ trust in government benevolence as a key pitfall that can undermine the strengthening of victims’ movements.
Ayaka Löschke

Legacies of a Post-Fukushima Mothers’ CSO Against Radiation

Frontmatter

Open Access

Chapter 5. Mother Activists and the Myth of Motherhood
Abstract
This chapter investigates post-Fukushima mothers’ activism, focusing on the Kodomozenkoku (Kodomo-tachi o Hōshanō kara Mamoru Zenkoku Nettowāku, National Network of Parents to Protect Children from Radiation), a Civil Society Organisation (CSO) that addressed radiation issues and comprised more than 350 local CSOs across Japan as rank-and-file members. Utilising social movement theory and biographical methods, it traces the CSO’s founding history and examines members’ highly educated backgrounds and work experiences. The analysis confirms that highly skilled working mothers in the childcare, IT and publishing sectors were not constrained by the myth of motherhood or traditional gender roles. This fundamental shift, framed by concepts such as self-determination and autonomy, is identified as a legacy of post-Fukushima activism.
Ayaka Löschke

Open Access

Chapter 6. Organisational Survival of Radiation Moms: A Shift From Advocacy to Non-Advocacy Activities
Abstract
This chapter analyses the organisational survival of a Civil Society Organisation (CSO) more than a decade after Fukushima, building on Chapter 5 and focusing on the Kodomozenkoku (Kodomo-tachi o Hōshanō kara Mamoru Zenkoku Nettowāku, National Network of Parents to Protect Children from Radiation). Its longevity is exceptional compared internationally and is examined through the lens of social movement theory. The chapter investigates the Kodomozenkoku’s strategic shift from national advocacy to local non-advocacy activities and traces its evolution from a loose network into a centralised, professional organisation (NPO) that reduced its dependence on prominent activists. Flexibility in goals, internal structure, and inter-organisational relations is identified as key to the Kodomozenkoku’s survival, constituting a major legacy of post-Fukushima activism.
Ayaka Löschke

Open Access

Chapter 7. Conclusion
Abstract
This conclusion evaluates the legacies of post-Fukushima activism, primarily focusing on Civil Society Organisations’ (CSOs’) advocacy that utilised the legislative system of Diet Member bills (DM bills). Comparing the implementation of the Nuclear Disaster Victims’ Support Law with those of other DM bills, it reveals pitfalls in implementing such bills, notably the lack of an advisory committee and guidelines for the implementation of the law. A comparison with the effectively implemented Child Poverty Law and Hate Speech Law highlights that strong local advocacy and local ordinances are crucial for the successful implementation of DM bills initiated by CSOs. The conclusion thus offers insights into developing strategies for CSOs’ future success in national advocacy and organisational strengthening.
Ayaka Löschke
Titel
Fukushima Legacies
Verfasst von
Ayaka Löschke
Copyright-Jahr
2026
Electronic ISBN
978-3-658-49655-5
Print ISBN
978-3-658-49654-8
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-49655-5

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