Restarting the Sendai Reactor: Japanese Civic Activism after Fukushima

Between 2011 and 2014, over 70% of Japanese favored phasing out nuclear power after cover-up of the 2011 Fukushima disaster destroyed public trust in pro-nuclear bureaucrats and the nuclear power industry. Given widespread... [ view full abstract ]

Between 2011 and 2014, over 70% of Japanese favored phasing out nuclear power after cover-up of the 2011 Fukushima disaster destroyed public trust in pro-nuclear bureaucrats and the nuclear power industry. Given widespread public opposition, what conditions led to the restart of Sendai Nuclear Power Plant Reactor No. 1 on August 11, 2015? I argue that exclusive politics, media censorship, economic incentives, and age and gender-based social norms against political activism limited the effectiveness of the anti-nuclear movement, enabling the government and Kyushu Electric to restart Sendai Reactor No. 1 despite public opposition. I employ an interdisciplinary framework to characterize the relationships between activists, volunteers, government officials, and residents of Kagoshima Prefecture competing for agency and control over the Sendai Restart. I draw on interviews, surveys, and participant observation from research I conducted in four Japanese Prefectures between Fall 2014 and Summer 2015.