Trust  and  E+que.e  Some  Societal  Consequences  of  the  Great  East  Japan  

Earthquake

Florian  Coulmas  German  Ins+tute  for  Japanese  Studies

Outline    

•  E+que.e      •  Living  with  the  threat  of  disaster    

 “Stoic  composure”    •  Trust    

 in  government    in  science  and  technology    in  media  

 •    The  role  of  civil  society  

     

©Florian  Coulmas,  German  Ins+tute  for  Japanese  Studies  Tokyo

Ini+al  crisis  response

100.000  SDF  troops  deployed  in  Tohoku

©Florian  Coulmas,  German  Ins+tute  for  Japanese  Studies  Tokyo

©Florian  Coulmas,  German  Ins+tute  for  Japanese  Studies  Tokyo

©Florian  Coulmas,  German  Ins+tute  for  Japanese  Studies  Tokyo

Trust  and  subjec+ve  well-‐being    •  family,•  safety  in  the  neighbourhood,•  employment  security,•  health  care,•  the  police  and  the  fire  department,•  other  government  ins+tu+ons,•  voluntary  associa+ons,•  banks,•  the  media

©Florian  Coulmas,  German  Ins+tute  for  Japanese  Studies  Tokyo

APershocks

Source:  Earthquake  Research  Ins+tute,  The  University  of  Tokyo

6  months  before 3/11 6  months  a1er

47 343

≥  M3  earthquakes  recorded  in  Tokyo

©Florian  Coulmas,  German  Ins+tute  for  Japanese  Studies  Tokyo

出る釘は打たれる  The  nail  that  s+cks  out  will  be  hammered  down

©Florian  Coulmas,  German  Ins+tute  for  Japanese  Studies  Tokyo

14  March  2011  in  Sendai,  queuing  for  supplies  

©Florian  Coulmas,  German  Ins+tute  for  Japanese  Studies  Tokyo

Collec+ve  intelligence  of  a  civilized  society

©Florian  Coulmas,  German  Ins+tute  for  Japanese  Studies  Tokyo

A1er  3/11  trust  in  government  declined  for  three  reasons:    (1)  The  dimension  and  the  geographic  stretch  of  the  

devasta+on  made  rescue  opera+ons  and  the  transport  of  supplies  to  the  disaster  area  very  difficult.  

(2)  As  +me  went  by,  administra+ve  and  legal  difficul+es  piled      up.  The  opposi+on  LDP  stone-‐walled  which,  as  it  controls  the  Upper  House  effec+vely  slowed  down  government  ini+a+ves.    (3)  Ins+tu+onal  structures  for  the  supervision  of  nuclear  power  plants  proved  inadequate.  Placing  the  Nuclear  and  Industrial  Safety  Agency  (NISA),  which  is  tasked  to  regulate  nuclear  power  safety,  under  the  roof  of  the  Ministry  of  Economy,  Trade  and  Industry,  which  promotes  nuclear  power,  was  a  major  mistake.

The  friendly  face  of  nuclear  power

Propelled  by  nuclear  power:  Astroboy

In  front  of  the  town  hall  of  Futaba:  “Development  of  our  home  town  and  a  prosperous  future  with  nuclear  energy.  “  Photograph  Munesuke  Yamamoto.

©Florian  Coulmas,  German  Ins+tute  for  Japanese  Studies  Tokyo

Nuclear  power  policy  as  part  of  regional  policy

Support  for  Nuclear  Power,  Asahi  Shimbun  polls,  April    through  December  2011

©Florian  Coulmas,  German  Ins+tute  for  Japanese  Studies  Tokyo

against

for

7% 42% 32% 12% 7% 3% 32% 43% 14% 8% % 27% 47% 18% 7%

10% 46% 29% 12% 3% 4% 34% 44% 15% 3%

5% 51% 30% 11% 3% 4% 49% 33% 11% 3%

What should be done about the future of nuclear power in Japan?

increase maintain the status quo decrease abolish totally others

April 18, NHK

May 16, NHK

June 16, NHK 1

April 4, Yomiuri

May 16, Yomiuri

April 18, Asahi

April 26, Sankei/FNN

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Source:  JAIF,  Department  of  Interna+onal  Affairs  (JAIF),  16  June  2011

©Florian  Coulmas,  German  Ins+tute  for  Japanese  Studies  Tokyo

Level  of  acceptance  of  nuclear  power  depends  on  who  you  ask.  

KOHGA3  ground  robot,  research  team  Kyoto  University

©Florian  Coulmas,  German  Ins+tute  for  Japanese  Studies  Tokyo

Safety  myth:  Because  nuclear  technology  was  deemed  safe,  funding  for  emergency  robots  was  cut.

©Florian  Coulmas,  German  Ins+tute  for  Japanese  Studies  Tokyo

No  trust  in  government  measurements:    Ci+zens  of  Minamisoma  just  outside  the  no-‐go  zone  prepare  their  own  radia+on  map.  

©Florian  Coulmas,  German  Ins+tute  for  Japanese  Studies  Tokyo

Trust  in  food  safety

©Florian  Coulmas,  German  Ins+tute  for  Japanese  Studies  Tokyo

Reduced  trust  in  media

©Florian  Coulmas,  German  Ins+tute  for  Japanese  Studies  Tokyo

Global  Conference  on  a  Nuclear  Power  Free  World,  Yokohama,  1/14,15,  2012

Number  of  registered  volunteers  who  visited  the  disaster  area,  March  2011  through  January  2012  (920,000  total)

Source:  全国社会福祉協議会　被災地支援・災害ボランティア情報  h

Japan Trust  in 2011 2012 change

All  bodies 51 34 -‐17

Government 51 25 -‐26

Media 48 36 -‐12

NGOs 51 36 -‐21

Data  from  Edelman  trustbarometer,  h.p://trust.edelman.com/trust-‐download/global-‐results/

©Florian  Coulmas,  German  Ins+tute  for  Japanese  Studies  Tokyo

Severe  decline  in  trust  across  the  board

©Florian  Coulmas,  German  Ins+tute  for  Japanese  Studies  Tokyo

The  dilemma  today:    While  trust  in  government  and  in  technology  has  been  greatly  compromised  the  present  predicament  cannot  be  resolved  without  government  and  technology.

©Florian  Coulmas,  German  Ins+tute  for  Japanese  Studies  Tokyo

E+que.e  under  duress:  High  school  gradua+on  in  the  disaster  area

礼儀正しい

©Florian  Coulmas,  German  Ins+tute  for  Japanese  Studies  Tokyo

Thank  you  for  your  a.en+on!