On March 11th, Japan paused to remember those who perished in the Tohoku earthquake-tsunami three years ago. Today, the nuclear reactors at Fukushima still have 400 tons of cooling water added to them each day, and contaminated water continues to leak into the ocean and soil. According to Japan’s Reconstruction Agency, 267,419 people have not been able to return to their homes and are living in prefabricated houses or hospitals. In many areas, radiation levels remain elevated, and no one knows when those displaced by the disaster will be able to return to a normal life.
Fukko became a household word in Japan after 3-11. Translated, it means “reconstruction,” “restoration” or “recovery.” Towns and cities in the Tohoku region hit by the tsunami occasionally label themselves Fukko-shi, or Reconstruction Cities, and they strive to draw tourism or to stimulate demand across the country for what they produce locally.
Last year, Fukko was the theme of a popular TV drama, Ama-chan, which was set in an imaginary town on the Sanriku Coast, one of the most severely damaged areas. A debate quickly erupted among viewers over episodes relating to 3-11. Many people felt the meltdown at Fukushima should have been portrayed, but others argued it was unnecessary to show the disaster itself or indicate that the fiction is set in Iwate—another prefecture in Tohoku—and not Fukushima.
Since 3-11, the entire Tohoku region has been stigmatized. After government inspections, it launched a public relations campaign to assure the nation that its products are safe from radioactive contamination. Fukko has also become the center of advertising campaigns to support Tohoku farmers and fishermen.
But Fukushima prefecture today is increasingly isolated from the rest of Tohoku, as well as from the fukko movement. Many Japanese are still reluctant to visit the prefecture or consume its fish, meat, rice, vegetables, fruit, and dairy products. Other prefectures in Tohoku receive more attention, such as Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, and Yamagata. What does fukko really mean if it does not include Fukushima? There are even reported cases of businesses exploiting fukko for profit, without providing any benefits to the people in most need.
At the anniversary ceremony, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that “accelerating fukko [reconstruction] still further and enabling the people affected by the disaster to return to their regular lives as soon as possible is a way to repay the departed souls of the victims watching over us from heaven.”
Emperor Akihito, on the other hand, used the term in a slightly different way. He said: “In the past three years, people in the afflicted regions, still living under severe conditions, have overcome numerous difficulties with a strong sense of solidarity and made great efforts towards fukko [reconstruction].”
While Shinzo Abe sees fukko as a process that is underway, Akihito sees it as an objective not yet reached. It is a small distinction, but an important one, for what Japan means by the term will inevitably affect its efforts to recover.
Photo: "Emperor Akihito Visits Soma, Fukushima" by Warren Antiola (cc).
a global affairs media network
Japan’s Struggle to Define Recovery After Fukushima
April 1, 2014
On March 11th, Japan paused to remember those who perished in the Tohoku earthquake-tsunami three years ago. Today, the nuclear reactors at Fukushima still have 400 tons of cooling water added to them each day, and contaminated water continues to leak into the ocean and soil. According to Japan’s Reconstruction Agency, 267,419 people have not been able to return to their homes and are living in prefabricated houses or hospitals. In many areas, radiation levels remain elevated, and no one knows when those displaced by the disaster will be able to return to a normal life.
Fukko became a household word in Japan after 3-11. Translated, it means “reconstruction,” “restoration” or “recovery.” Towns and cities in the Tohoku region hit by the tsunami occasionally label themselves Fukko-shi, or Reconstruction Cities, and they strive to draw tourism or to stimulate demand across the country for what they produce locally.
Last year, Fukko was the theme of a popular TV drama, Ama-chan, which was set in an imaginary town on the Sanriku Coast, one of the most severely damaged areas. A debate quickly erupted among viewers over episodes relating to 3-11. Many people felt the meltdown at Fukushima should have been portrayed, but others argued it was unnecessary to show the disaster itself or indicate that the fiction is set in Iwate—another prefecture in Tohoku—and not Fukushima.
Since 3-11, the entire Tohoku region has been stigmatized. After government inspections, it launched a public relations campaign to assure the nation that its products are safe from radioactive contamination. Fukko has also become the center of advertising campaigns to support Tohoku farmers and fishermen.
But Fukushima prefecture today is increasingly isolated from the rest of Tohoku, as well as from the fukko movement. Many Japanese are still reluctant to visit the prefecture or consume its fish, meat, rice, vegetables, fruit, and dairy products. Other prefectures in Tohoku receive more attention, such as Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, and Yamagata. What does fukko really mean if it does not include Fukushima? There are even reported cases of businesses exploiting fukko for profit, without providing any benefits to the people in most need.
At the anniversary ceremony, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that “accelerating fukko [reconstruction] still further and enabling the people affected by the disaster to return to their regular lives as soon as possible is a way to repay the departed souls of the victims watching over us from heaven.”
Emperor Akihito, on the other hand, used the term in a slightly different way. He said: “In the past three years, people in the afflicted regions, still living under severe conditions, have overcome numerous difficulties with a strong sense of solidarity and made great efforts towards fukko [reconstruction].”
While Shinzo Abe sees fukko as a process that is underway, Akihito sees it as an objective not yet reached. It is a small distinction, but an important one, for what Japan means by the term will inevitably affect its efforts to recover.
Photo: "Emperor Akihito Visits Soma, Fukushima" by Warren Antiola (cc).
